Joey Barton reveals Bristol Rovers transfer interest in Championship player

Following a successful season in which Bristol Rovers achieved promotion to League One, Joey Barton is now looking ahead to next season with the hope of his side being able to retain their place in the league above. 

However, whilst planning for next season, the boss is also looking back at last season too. Connor Taylor spent the season on loan with Bristol Rovers from Stoke City and was a regular part of the side making 47 appearances in all competitions and scoring three goals.

The 20-year-old’s impressive form saw him put pen to paper on a new three year deal with his parent club and Potters boss Michael O’Neill is said to be taking a look at the youngster before making any decisions about his future.

At the weekend, Stoke’s head of football operations Andy Cousins admitted that the defender could still stay or be loaned out this summer with a while still to go in the transfer window.

However, Joey Barton has admitted that if he was to become available then he would be keen to get his former loan player back to the Memorial Stadium as he told Bristol Live: “Connor did great here last year and we will forever be grateful to him, but he isn’t our player at the end of the day. You’re in Stoke’s hands on that.

“We’d love to have him back because he was a great fit for us and I think he enjoyed his time here and we certainly enjoyed his performances.

“If that options is there and Stoke want to loan him out we’d be delighted to have him back, but again he’s not our player and he could play in their first team based on what I’ve seen. They will improve and get better, but Connor was a fantastic player for us.

“But as I said, it’s disrespectful for me to talk bout their players.”

The Verdict: 

There’s no doubt that Taylor is