Bristol Rovers transfer ins and outs in full as Joey Barton builds squad for League One survival

Full list of Bristol Rovers' transfer activity
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The summer transfer window has slammed shut and Bristol Rovers will have to make do with what they have at their disposal.

Back in League One at the first time of asking, Joey Barton needed to assemble a squad capable of competing in the third tier with survival the first objective before the foundations can be laid for more success.

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A total of 13 players were released from their contracts when the retained list came out but one of them found their way back, namely Glenn Whelan, who is now a member of the coaching staff as a player-coach.

Perhaps one of the biggest deals of the summer was keeping Antony Evans who had such a terrific campaign last year that it caught the eye of some of their league rivals.

The Gas’ transfer business was varied but no one can say that owner Wael al-Qadi didn’t back Barton in the transfer window with transfer fees paid for three players.

Jordan Rossiter reunited with Barton after working together at Fleetwood Town and then James Connolly returned for a five figure fee after a successful loan spell from Cardiff City.

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James Gibbons joined on a free transfer from League Two play-off winners Port Vale, but it’s a wait and see with him with the former Valiants defender currently on the sidelines.

John Marquis, who has scored goals in abundance in the third tier was brought in after leaving Lincoln City following a short stint, he’s already got a goal to his name after netting against Oxford United.

Defensive reinforcements were needed and in came Lewis Gordon, who rejected Crystal Palace despite a trial period of a few weeks to join Rovers and dive in right at the deep end, making his debut less than two hours before his announcement.

Two players have come in on loan from Premier League clubs and two high-end Championship teams battling for promotion, leaving one season-long loan left.

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Lewis Gibson from Everton was the first loanee to arrive, joining in mid August and then came three deadline day signings, Sylvester Jasper from Fulham, Middlesbrough’s Josh Coburn and Bobby Thomas from Burnley.

In between that came Rovers’ number one transfer target Luke McCormick, returning for a six figure fee from AFC Wimbledon. McCormick had such a successful loan spell and Barton was able to get his man after weeks of haggling.

Moving on to departures and the only major one was Sam Nicholson rejecting a new contract and opting to return to the United States to link up with Colorado Rapids again. Out of all their summer departures only Jon Nolan and Cian Harries earned Football League moves.

A lot of the released players ended up joining the same club, Kieran Phillips and Lucas Tomlinson went to Lee Mansell’s Gloucester City and were joined by Jamie Egan, who moved on loan there.

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Pablo Martinez and Tom Mehew also had the same idea and joined National League South outfit Chippenham Town together.

There would be no return for Connor Taylor, Elliot Anderson or Luke Thomas who are now important figures for their parent clubs, but Rovers can take pride in helping make their loan heroes the best players they can be.

Transfers in:

Jordan Rossiter (undisclosed from Fleetwood Town)

James Connolly (undisclosed, from Cardiff City)

James Gibbons (free transfer, from Port Vale)

John Marquis (free transfer, from Lincoln City)

Lewis Gordon (free transfer, from Brentford)

Lewis Gibson (season-long loan, from Everton)

Luke McCormick (undisclosed, from AFC Wimbledon)

Sylvester Jasper (season-long loan, from Fulham)

Josh Coburn (season-long loan, from Middlesbrough)

Bobby Thomas (season-long loan from Burnley)

Transfers out:

Junior Brown (released)

Leon Clarke (released)

Cameron Hargreaves (released, to King’s Lynn Town),

Cian Harries (released, to Swindon Town)

Ollie Hulbert (released, to Yeovil Town)

Ben Liddle (released, to Darlington)

Pablo Martinez (released, to Chippenham Town)

Tom Mehew (released, to Chippenham Town)

Sam Nicholson (free transfer, to Colorado Rapids)

Jon Nolan (released, to Tranmere Rovers)

Brett Pitman (released, to AFC Portchester)

Kieran Phillips (released, to Gloucester City)

Lucas Tomlinson (released, to Gloucester City)

Glenn Whelan (released, player-coach role at Bristol Rovers)

Jamie Egan (loan, to Gloucester City)

Jed Ward (loan, to Hungerford Town)

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