Jevani Brown completes Bristol Rovers loan exit as out-of-favour forwards joins Notts County

Bristol Rovers have confirmed that forward Jevani Brown has joined League Two side Notts County on a season-long loan with a January recall option included.

Despite being fit, the 29-year-old hasn't been included in any of Rovers' matchday squads for the opening five games of the new season as well as their final pre-season friendly against Cardiff City. Additionally, Brown wasn't selected to feature in the penultimate friendly against Plymouth Argyle but instead played in a behind-closed-doors fixture with Newport County alongside a number of academy players which first suggested that an exit was likely.

The forward has one year left on his current Rovers contract having been brought to the club by Joey Barton last summer but it currently seems as though he may well have played his final game for the Gas.

The 29-year-old scored just one league goal for the Gas last season, a screamer against Port Vale, with his only other effort coming in the FA Cup against Whitby Town. He did also contribute six assists, making a total of 41 appearances under Barton, interim boss Andy Mangan and then Taylor.

However, of his own admission, Brown's best position is behind the striker in the No10 role but, due to shortages in striking options throughout last campaign, the playmaker was often deployed up front either in a pair on as the furthest man forward.

Over the course of pre-season though, 17-year-old academy product Kofi Shaw seriously impressed just behind the strike force while Luke McCormick also enjoyed a number of strong displays both in the hole or leading the line.

Rovers have also added Promise Omochere, Ruel Sotiriou and Gatlin O'Donkor on loan from Oxford United to their forward ranks. They also have Chris Martin but the experienced striker is expected to be out for a significant period of time after breaking his fibula.

The signing of Brown was controversial due to an ongoing assault case which has since concluded with the player fined and told to pay compensation and costs totalling £7,485. Due to the charge, he hadn't played since late January that year, having been suspended by Exeter City, where he was at at the time.

Prior to his suspension, the forward had been a star player for the Grecians in League One, scoring 14 goals and assisting a further nine in 32 appearances and the hope of then-manager Barton was that the Gas could benefit from similar goalscoring form.

Taylor did work with the 29-year-old prior to his arrival at the Gas last December when Exeter boss, with the forward part of the Grecians' League Two promotion winning side of 2021/22 before a stellar start to life in League One. Taylor then departed St James Park that October to take up the vacancy at then-Championship side Rotherham United.

The hope was that when the pair were reunited in BS7 last season that the Rovers boss could once again get the best out of the playmaker who has shown his quality at this level previously. That hasn't quite happened with Taylor admitting in February, after Brown had one of his best performances in a Gas shirt with two assists against Carlisle United, that the 29-year-old "can be fitter."

Admittedly, consistency seemed to evade the majority of Rovers' squad but the forward never managed to replicate such a display in the remaining two months of the campaign.