That is exactly how football finances work though.
If Herbie was purchased for £1.2m and was on a three year contract, his value would be amortised on Barnsley's Balance Sheet through the term of his contract. In other words, after one year he would sit on the Balance Sheet as an asset worth £800,000 and after two years it would be £400,000. So if we bought him 18 months into a three year contract, his value to Barnsley's Balance Sheet would be £600,000. So in that case Barnsley would be able to offload him for £600,000 and break even, as they would have already absorbed the other £600,000 on their Balance Sheet through the amortisation process. This was precisely what Derby County lost points for, as they came up with a different, and unique to football, method of amortising their playing assets which kept their players at virtually full value until the last day of their contracts, thereby cheating the FFP system.
I'm not saying, one way or the other, whether he will or won't sign for us, but that is how it works, and that is why Barnsley may be prepared to sell him at that price.