Luton's Championship rivals Barnsley appoint Swedish U21 manager Asbaghi as head coach

Barnsley have appointed a new head coach at Oakwell

Luton' s Championship rivals Barnsley have appointed Poya Asbaghi as their new head coach.

The 36-year-old Iranian has moved to Oakwell to take over from Markus Schopp, who was sacked earlier this month, following his departure from the Swedish national set-up, where he was U21 head coach.

Asbaghi, who will be accompanied by Spaniard Ferran Sibila, began his coaching career as an assistant at Swedish third tier outfit Dalkurd FF, before taking over the helm two years later.

He then moved to Gefle IF in 2017 before a two-year stint with Swedish giants IFK Göteborg, winning the Svenska Cupen glory 2020 beating rivals Malmö FF in the final, leaving for the U21s job, leading the side to the top of UEFA U21 European Championship Qualifying Group F.

Barnsley chief executive officer Khaled El-Ahmad told the Tykes' official website: “We welcome Poya and Ferran to the club.

"Both are good people, talented coaches with a clear leadership and tactical philosophy.

“Poya was on the radar back in 2019 and as we went through our recruitment process it became clear to all parties that Poya and Ferran can take Barnsley FC forward.

“We would like to thank Jo Laumann and the first team coaching staff for their continued hard work and professionalism over the past few weeks during what has been a transitional period for the Club.”

Luton have already won 1-0 at Barnsley earlier in the season, and host the Tykes at Kenilworth Road in February next year.

The South Yorkshire side have struggled to replicate the form that saw them reach the play-offs last term, sitting second bottom with just 11 points from their opening 17 games.