Bristol Rovers contract state of play following major summer overhaul with 16 new arrivals

The summer transfer window is officially closed and Bristol Rovers have a new-look squad on the back of 16 signings and 11 permanent departures throughout a hectic recruitment process.

Nine of the players who left were ones whose contracts had expired at the end of last season with Sam Finley, John Marquis, Lewis Gordon, Josh Grant, Harvey Greenslade, Ryan Jones, James Gibbons, Jordan Rossiter and Luca Hoole all leaving and so Rovers will be keen to avoid another scenario where such a colossal squad overhaul is required.

Additionally, Antony Evans and James Connolly were sold to Huddersfield Town and Crewe Alexandra respectively while another six players in Tristan Crama, Matt Cox, Harvey Vale, Brandon Aguilera, Harry Vaughan and Elkan Baggott returned to their parent clubs following loan deals. Furthermore, Jed Ward and Jevani Brown are still contracted while being out on loan at Forest Green Rovers and Notts County respectively.

There has been a common theme regarding the 11 players Rovers have recruited on permanent deals with two or three-year contracts being handed out, plus the option of a further season, which should give the club a bit more control in terms of receiving fees for players when the time comes for them to be moved on.

However, besides the five loanees in Josh Griffiths, Jake Garrett, Michael Forbes, Lino Sousa and Gatlin O'Donkor, Rovers do have nine players with one year remaining on their current deals which prompts the question of how many will be offered extensions over the next handful of months.

Senior players Scott Sinclair, Chris Martin, James Wilson, Jack Hunt and Grant Ward are all in the final years of their deals with Sinclair and Martin signing one-year extensions at the end of last season. Meanwhile, Wilson and Hunt were arrivals last summer with Ward joining in January 2023 and then signing a new two-year deal that summer.

Additionally, youngster Jerry Lawrence saw a one-year extension option in his contract activated at the end of last season but the midfielder is yet to feature for the first-team this term, being an unused substitute against Tottenham Under-21s, having been a rather frequent fixture in pre-season.

Matt Hall is currently Rovers' back-up goalkeeper to Griffiths while Luke McCormick is currently being used as an impact substitute in League One, coming on in three of the four games so far while starting cup matches against Cardiff City and Tottenham Under-21s, scoring against the latter.

Although there is a January recall option in Brown's loan deal at Notts County, the assumption is that the 29-year-old has likely played his final game for the Gas having been excluded from all matchday squads so far this campaign prior to his departure.

In terms of players that Rovers could look to tie down to new deals, Ward will likely be supporters' first-choice with the midfielder an integral part of Matt Taylor's side, who evidently suffered when the 29-year-old was unavailable last season. Admittedly, there are still concerns regarding whether this campaign will spring up similar injury issues to last term but so far it seems as though the Gas have learned from any previous mistakes and are managing Ward efficiently.

Sinclair, Martin and Wilson will all end the season aged 36 while Jack Hunt will be 34 in December, however the quartet are key senior figures which are a rarity in this largely young squad. Currently, Sinclair is being deployed as an impact substitute in the league, Martin is expected to be sidelined until later this year with a broken fibula and Hunt is yet to make an appearance while Wilson has been outstanding in the middle of a back-three alongside Taylor Moore and Clinton Mola, starting all four league matches so far.

Supporters will be pleased to see Luke Thomas and Connor Taylor as players who are still contracted for two more seasons with the pair seen as major assets for the football club while Kamil Conteh and Jed Ward signed three-and-a-half and four-year contracts respectively last season. The former joined in January from Grimsby Town but doesn't have the option to extend by a further season while the latter is Rovers' only player contracted until 2028 with the goalkeeper currently on loan at Forest Green Rovers in order to aid his development.

Out of the 11 players who joined permanently this summer, Joel Senior, Micah Anthony, Bryant Bilongo and Dan Ellison signed two-year deals while Jamie Lindsay, Taylor Moore, Clinton Mola, Isaac Hutchinson, Promise Omochere, Ruel Sotiriou and Shaq Forde penned three-year contracts. All have options included for an extra season.

It is also worth noting that 17-year-old Kofi Shaw is also under contract but the exact year in which his current deal expires is unclear at the time of writing.

Bristol Rovers contracts in full

2025

• Josh Griffiths (loan)

• Jake Garrett (loan)

• Michael Forbes (loan)

• Lino Sousa (loan)

• Gatlin O'Donkor (loan)

• Scott Sinclair

• Chris Martin

• James Wilson

• Jack Hunt

• Grant Ward

• Luke McCormick

• Matt Hall

• Jerry Lawrence

• Jevani Brown (on loan at Notts County)

2026

• Luke Thomas

• Joel Senior (option of further season)

• Connor Taylor

• Micah Anthony (option of further season)

• Bryant Bilongo (option of further season)

• Dan Ellison (option of further season)

2027

• Jamie Lindsay (option of further season)

• Taylor Moore (option of further season)

• Clinton Mola (option of further season)

• Isaac Hutchinson (option of further season)

• Promise Omochere (option of further season)

• Ruel Sotiriou (option of further season)

• Kamil Conteh

• Shaq Forde (option of further season)

2028

• Jed Ward (on loan at Forest Green Rovers)