Daryl Dike: How a young American striker helped Barnsley become unlikely promotion contenders

The USMNT striker and Barnsley's CEO spoke to CBS Sports amid the Tykes' remarkable rise up the English second tier

Daryl Dike might have known his time in Yorkshire was destined to be something special from how it began. The day after his first cap for the US men's national team, the Orlando City striker was flying out to Barnsley to complete a move to the English Championship side. Ten days later he was taking to the field for the first time against Chelsea, the club he grew up idolizing from Edmond, Oklahoma. 1 Norwich City 40 26 9 4 36 87 2 Watford 40 23 10 7 30 79 3 Brentford 39 19 13 7 26 70 4 Swansea 39 20 9 10 14 69 5 Barnsley 40 20 8 12 8 68 6 Reading 40 19 9 12 13 66 7 Bournemouth 39 18 11 10 22 65 8 Cardiff City 40 16 10 14 12 58 "You go through training really hard so you can play in your first national team cap and then all of a sudden you're flying out to Barnsley to start a new life, a new experience," Dike tells CBS Sports. "It was great. It is great. "For me, it's something that changed my life, and it's something that I'm super thankful for. It's just, I don't know, it's just crazy, because think about how much happened in such a short period.