Hull City are refusing to pay Barnsley the final instalment of a transfer fee for a player who has been diagnosed with cancer.

Sportsmail understands that Hull owe Barnsley around £200,000 for defender Angus MacDonald, with the matter now heading for court.

Another of MacDonald's former clubs, Torquay United, are due what sources have said is a 'vital' sum — believed to be around £20,000 — because of a sell-on clause.

Hull City defender Angus MacDonald has been diagnosed with early-stage bowel cancer

It is thought Hull have claimed Barnsley failed to disclose the 27-year-old had an iron deficiency when he moved between the clubs.

Hull agreed a fee believed to be around £750,000 in January of last year and the final payment was due on August 31.

It was not forthcoming. On September 4, Hull released a statement disclosing that MacDonald had been diagnosed with the early stages of bowel cancer. He had been sidelined for almost a year because of deep vein thrombosis and has made 13 league appearances for the club, with his last coming in April 2018.

Barnsley and Torquay declined to comment.

The former Torquay and Barnsley man vowed to fight the illness 'head on' in an Instagram post

Hull said they could not comment due to it being a 'legal matter'.

Prior to his move to Hull, then-Barnsley head coach Paul Heckingbottom publicly cited an iron deficiency as the reason for MacDonald not making the squad at Oakwell in the latter stages of his time there.

The player himself begged to differ in an interview in a subsequent Hull match programme, stating tests during his medical had shown 'sky-high' levels.

After the cancer diagnosis, MacDonald checked into hospital and posted a defiant message on Instagram, stating that he was 'ready to fight this head on'.

He added: 'I am going to do whatever I can to get back to full health and back on the pitch.'

MacDonald's girlfriend, the 2008 X Factor winner Alexandra Burke, also took to social media to voice her support.