Fulham winger refutes Joey Bartons’s claims as Bristol Rovers end season-long loan

Joey Barton says Bristol Rovers must ‘keep moving forward’ after season-long loan signing Sylvester Jasper was returned to Premier League side Fulham.

Jasper was a Deadline Day signing from the Cottagers and had made several appearances, mostly from the bench. His loan agreement was meant to have kept him at the Memorial Stadium for the entirety of the 2022/23 League One campaign.

The 21-year-old was not a first choice option for Barton, who tried varying systems to accomodate the ten signings he made in the summer. Rovers this week signed former Celtic and Aston Villa winger Scott Sinclair, which made Jasper’s task of breaking into the starting eleven a tougher task.

“He wasn’t happy with the minutes he was getting and he’s gone back to Fulham,” Barton said after his side fought back from two goals down against Plymouth Argyle.

“He’s obviously got disappointed and if you’re not happy here, crack on. He’s gone back to Fulham and we’ve got Scott Sinclair. We just keep moving forward. We’ve made the decision, not him. If people aren’t playing they get disappointed.”

His only starts as a Bristol Rovers player came in the EFL Trophy, where he showed promise against Crystal Palace’s Under-21’s, but was unable to add to his first-half showing. Jasper’s last appearance in the Blue and White quarters came against Swindon Town, playing the entirety of the match.

In total, he made eight appearances for the club and departs having played 261 minutes. His most notable contribution was two assists, both for Ryan Loft against Exeter City and Swindon respectively.

Jasper received best wishes from the ex-Manchester City and Newcastle midfielder, who wished him well for the remainder of his career.

“We have an ethos and principles here and if those aren’t respected then we don’t want you in our football club,” the 40-year-old said.

“He’s a talented boy, he’ll have a decent career and he’ll learn valuable lessons. “It’s been explained to Fulham the reasons why and we wish him well. He had a couple of cameos for us but we have a lot of good players here and we haven’t got time to waste on disappointment.”

After both Barton and the club had revealed that Jasper had returned to West London, the former Colchester United and Hibernian loanee issued a response. He refuted the claims posted on the club’s offical feed and wanted to add his side of his return.

“That’s not the reason why I’m back at @FulhamFC,” said the Bulgaria Under-21 international on Twitter. “However I want to thank everyone involved at Bristol for their support during my time there, and I wish the club all the best for the future.”