Former Celtic winger signs new Bristol Rovers contract despite January transfer interest

Scott Sinclair will remain as a Bristol Rovers player after signing a new 18-month contract with the club. He will remain with the club until the summer of 2024.

Sinclair's deal was due to expire after the conclusion of the Gas' League One match with Wycombe Wanderers earlier this week. He had joined his first professional football club on a short-term deal but has now committed to a longer stay at the Memorial Stadium.

The 33-year-old started out at Rovers, but was quickly snapped up by Chelsea as a teenager, and went on to have a successful career with Aston Villa, Celtic and Manchester City. Sinclair was released by Preston North End in the summer and after training with both Chelsea and Rovers he did enough to impress Joey Barton and earn a deal.

Sinclair had received interest from other clubs with his contract only running until January, but the Bath-born winger has opted to see out the season, as well as the next, as he looks to help them with their promotion bid.

"I'm delighted to be staying at Rovers," said Sinclair. It's a club that means a huge amount to me, having started my footballing journey in the blue-and-white quarters.

"I hope the fans can see how much I want to be here and I look forward to making more memories at this great football club."

Sinclair has been a positive influence amongst his peers, who are all relatively younger than him. The former Celtic attacker was successful in Glasgow, and with more than 100 appearances in the Premier League and 19 goals, has been a figure for players to learn from.

In Sinclair's first spell as a Rovers player he played just two times, but he has already played more matches in his second spell. Sinclair has played 16 times this season and has scored four goals as well as supplying an assist. In recent games, he has been tried as a wing-back in Joey Barton's system.

He is the first signing of the January transfer window with Rovers in the market for six new players, but also keen to tie down their current players. They have held talks with Harry Anderson over a possible new contract, with the winger currently out with an injury.