Rotherham United manager Paul Warne made no secret of his desire to see Dan Barlaser strutting his stuff once again under the bright lights of the New York Stadium.
And Tuesday’s performance in an impressive 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest showed exactly why.
A brilliantly taken penalty was the icing on the cake of a performance that, in the words of one satisfied Rotherham supporter, “oozed class”.
It was Barlaser’s devilish set-pieces and defence-splitting passes that helped the Millers yo-yo their way back into the Championship last term.
And, if the Gateshead-born maestro can replicate those displays at a higher level, he could be the difference between survival and yet another immediate return to League One for a Rotherham side who seem to bounce between the divisions on an annual basis.
According to the Chronicle, Newcastle reluctantly agreed to let Barlaser join Rotherham on a permanent transfer in September after his eye-catching loan spell in South Yorkshire.
Steve Bruce rated the home-grown playmaker highly but, with Jonjo Shelvey, Isaac Hayden and others ahead of him in the pecking order, it made no sense to keep Barlaser stuck on the sidelines when other clubs were offering him a chance to put down roots at long last.
The report adds, however, that Newcastle have included a 50 per cent sell-on clause in his contract.
Clearly they feel Barlaser might not be a Rotherham player for long.
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