WHOLE NEW BALL GAME AT BARNSLEY

BILLY BEANE is bringing Moneyball to South Yorkshire as part of a Chinese-American buyout of Barnsley.

The former general manager of the Oakland Athletics changed baseball with his stats-based analysis – and was played in a Hollywood film by Brad Pitt.

Beane (left) has joined a consortium led by China’s Chien Lee and Americans Paul Conway and Grace Hung. Beane, speaking in London earlier this year, said: “I need to make sure when I invest in something that I have a pretty good chance of a return.”

The consortium is reported to have paid £20million for the Championship club from owner Patrick Cryne, who has cancer.

Lee also owns 80 per cent of Nice, who qualified for the Champions League for the first time last season.