McGeehan praises Luton for their handling of Tykes deal

The 22-year-old departed Kenilworth Road last month, finally snapped up by the Championship side after months of prolonged interest.

Speaking exclusively to the News/Gazette, McGeehan thanked both manager Nathan Jones and chief executive Gary Sweet for their efforts in sorting the deal out.

He said: “I had a really amazing relationship with the manager, and a good relationship with Gary Sweet too.

“With the gaffer there was a bit more to it, a bit more emotional and a bit more football, with Gary, I always had a very good business relationship.

“He’s very good at his job and he’s looking out for the best thing for Luton.

“The deal took a long time to go through with the transfer clauses, because Gary Sweet was pushing for the best deal he could get which shows his qualities as a chief executive and I don’t begrudge him that, it’s great.

“That sort of effort you’ve got to expect and he got a good deal. I was able to have a good conversations with them all throughout the bidding process. It’s quite well known that there was a lot of bidding and it almost went through in January and then it was going on towards the end of the season as well.

“I was always kept in the loop, but I was never going in saying ‘I want to leave, I want to leave.’

“I think everyone came to the same understanding that this was a good opportunity for me and a good opportunity for the club.”

Although highly ambitious, McGeehan never once forced the issue to join a club in the second tier of English football, but admitted things did change once Town missed out on promotion.

He continued: “I knew they’d (Barnsley) been interested a lot, but I hadn’t been particularly thinking about it.

“The club had rejected bids before, which I’d not argued with, not kicked off a fuss or wanted to leave, because I loved it at Luton.

“I really enjoyed every minute of playing there, so it wasn’t like I was kicking and screaming to get out.

“Then I got injured and wasn’t involved, and when the team didn’t get the promotion that we all wanted, it changed the picture quite a lot.

“With what Barnsley have done with young players at this level, it was an opportunity that I couldn’t refuse really and something that I’m really excited about as well.”

Had Luton won the play-offs, then it might have led to McGeehan staying on for another season, as he continued: “It would have been a harder decision, because Luton in League One is appetising, but it’s not even worth thinking about as it didn’t happen.

“The club were waiting to see how that went, to see if they maybe had the finances to keep me and in the end it was an offer that I couldn’t refuse.

“Also it was maybe an offer that they couldn’t refuse in terms of finances for the club and supporting the investment of the club, as they’ve put a lot of money into the training ground and need to cover the costs of all that.”