Playmaker's EFL 72: #46 Herbie Kane

We are now racing through into the mid-40's of players we think have had the best seasons throughout the EFL in the 2024 iteration of the 'Playmaker 72'

It's certainly been no easy task, but - just to clarify - our '72' is less a roll call of the best footballers in the EFL and more a tribute to those players who have enjoyed the most memorable seasons while racking up the most impressive stats.

Whatever the criteria, we're confident in our selections of the most outstanding players through the Championship, League One, and League Two and welcome any debate on the subject!

This time we're focusing in on a player that has followed a fairly common career path in the EFL from being a hot shot in a leading Premier League academy to a classy operator at a lower level.

The next man on the list is Barnsley’s key midfielder, Herbie Kane.

Number 46: Herbie Kane (Barnsley)

The 25-year-old has been essential in helping the Tykes sit tucked inside the top six and the playoff places as we head into the run in.

Kane was instrumental in helping Barnsley narrowly miss out in the playoff final against Sheffield Wednesday last season and the former Liverpool man has perhaps taken a slight step back in his performance this season but has remained a key man for the promotion chasers this time around again.

Complimenting a midfield that includes the deep-lying playmaking responsibilities of Luca Connell and outright creativity of Adam Phillips, Kane has remained technically proficient in the third-tier, complementing those two with an industry of a classical box-to-box midfielder.

Only two players, Jordan Williams (3790) and Devante Cole (3363), have played more minutes than Kane’s 3209 for Barnsley so far this season. No player with over 1900 minutes for the Yorkshire club has managed the same level of pass retention this season with Kane completing 80.1% of his passes.

Only the aforementioned Phillips and Cole, as well as John McAtee, have managed as many direct goal involvements as Kane this season (13 in total, eight goals and five assists), highlighting his attacking prowess as well as his general overall play.

Up at ten yellow cards in the League One, the most of anyone for his side, Kane’s attacking on the ball abilities are balanced against a willingness to ‘get stuck in’ as is par for the course in the EFL.

Kane is out of contract in the summer and if Barnsley decide against his renewal then there will be plenty of other clubs ready to pounce.

League One players out of contract in the summer ❌

Sonny Carey - Blackpool
Herbie Kane - Barnsley
Louie Sibley - Derby County
Jonson Clarke-Harris - Peterborough
Stephen Humphrys - Wigan
Lee Evans - Portsmouth
Josh Murphy - Oxford
Max Stryjet - Wycombe

Any takers? pic.twitter.com/VcPcbYNIZc

— The Lower Tiers (@LowerTiers) April 10, 2024

Playmaker's EFL 72...the countdown

47: Dan James 48: Archie Collins 49: Karamoko Dembele

50: Haji Wright 51: Dan Crowley 52: Cameron Brannagan 53: Aaron Collins

54: Andy Cook 55: Connor Shaughnessy 56: Jannik Vestergaard

57: Willy Gnonto 58: Ellis Simms 59: Charlie Hughes 60: Fatawu Isshaku

61: Sam Hoskins 62: Paul Mullin 63: Chris Martin 64: Omari Hutchinson

65: Isaac Hutchinson 66: Sam Tickle 67: Ben Hinchcliffe 68: Michał Helik

69: Lewis Wing 70: Rob Apter 71: Kyle Walker-Peters 72: Alex Palmer