Swansea City priced out Bristol Rovers for player that joined League One rivals

Bristol Rovers were priced out of a move for Swansea City attacker Kyle Joseph, it has been revealed.

Joseph featured against the Gas for his loan club Oxford United on Saturday, coming on for his debut after replacing Matt Taylor just after the hour mark.

The 20-year-old - who failed to impact the result - could have been playing in the blue and white quarters had things panned out differently when it came to negotiations.

In his post-match conference, Rovers manager Joey Barton revealed that Joseph was a target, but the demands of Swansea when it came to the financial structure of the deal meant a move could not take place.

He said: “We’ll have a decent budget but you look at some of the players they’ve got: Brannagan, six or seven grand a week.

“They took (Kyle) Joseph. We were in the market for Joseph and got blown out of the water. They wanted £5,500 a week coverage for him.”

Joseph had been a reported target for both Oxford United and Sheffield Wednesday but it was the U’s who came out on top.

Joseph’s playing position is mainly as a center-forward, standing at just over six feet, which is slightly taller than John Marquis but has also played on both wings.

He had not been a part of Russell Martin’s plans in South Wales and mainly played for their under-21’s team during pre-season.

Joseph joined the Welsh side from Wigan Athletic last summer but failed to make a breakthrough, being limited to substitute appearances.

He was loaned out to Cheltenham Town and got four goals and two assists before being recalled. Before that, he netted five goals in 18 games for Wigan in League One.

As to where Rovers are currently at in the transfer window, Adam Phillips from Burnley is the latest name to be linked with a move to the Memorial Stadium. Former loan midfielder Luke McCormick remains a target but Wimbledon’s valuation remains a sticking point in any potential deal.