Foster stays, Tykes release six

Barnsley defender Stephen Foster has accepted a new contract offer, while the club have offered new deals to Jacob Butterfield and Jim O'Brien.

Foster, 31, has has agreed a new 12-month deal after completing his fifth season with Barnsley, while winger O'Brien, who joined the club from Motherwell in August 2010, is understood to be mulling over a longer contract offer.

Tykes manager Keith Hill expects skipper Butterfield, sidelined with knee ligament damage since January, to leave the club in the summer, with Newcastle, Everton and Aston Villa all linked with the 23-year-old midfielder.

Hill wants to bring four or five new players to Barnsley during the summer and the club will not be offering new deals to midfielders David Cotterill, Nathan Doyle and Alistair Taylor, defender Jay McEveley, goalkeeper David Preece, or striker Andy Gray.