Bristol Rovers among a number of League One clubs chasing signature of Coventry City striker

Coventry City striker Tyler Walker has emerged as a potential transfer target for Bristol Rovers this summer.

Walker is the first striker to be linked with a move to the Memorial Stadium following the close season but there is competition from their league rivals.

The 25-year-old was with Danny Cowley’s Portsmouth last season and is under contract at the Sky Blues until the summer of 2023.

Sunday Mirror Sports editor Darren Witcoop claims that they and a number of League One clubs are interested in the son of Nottingham Forest and Sheffield Wednesday legend Des Walker.

Both a loan and permanent move have been mooted but it would come down to Walker’s wages as ‘Walker doesn’t come cheap’ according to the Welsh journalist.

The player netted just once in 15 appearances with nine of those being starts at Portsmouth last season after making the move from the Ricoh Arena.

Walker’s most successful spell came in 2018/19 when he netted 26 goals in 50 appearances for Mansfield Town, earning himself a place in the Team of the Year.

He followed that up a season later by scoring 17 goals in 34 appearances for Lincoln City under Cowley at Sincil Bank and would have been a former teammate of Rovers midfielder Harry Anderson.

The athletic front-man has so far been unable to recapture that form in the Championship however, scoring 11 goals in 53 games for Coventry since joining in August 2020.

Rovers will be on the search for forward options after releasing experienced Football League Leon Clarke and Brett Pitman last week, whilst academy graduates Kieran Phillips and Ollie Hulbert were also let go.

It leaves top scorer Aaron Collins, January recruit Ryan Loft and Harvey Saunders as their only senior forward options.

Antony Evans and Sam Nicholson, who both played as makeshift striker’s last season remain in dialogue with the club over new deals but have offers from elsewhere which they will mull over with their respective agents.

Walker is the second player to be linked with a move to the West Country in the space of a week after ‘The News’ from Portsmouth attributed interest to Accrington Stanley midfielder Matt Butcher.