The Cardiff City, Norwich, Stoke and Swansea wingers that Bristol Rovers could target

Bristol Rovers remain keen to add more reinforcements to their squad but time is ticking away.

A centre-back was on the top priority and they have that now in Lewis Gibson, however another may be needed to provide cover in a key area.

Joey Barton’s next plan may be to move on to players in the attacking areas, more specifically on the flanks.

“Yeah, we’re short. We’ve lost three wingers in Elliot Anderson, Luke Thomas and Sam Nicholson and we haven’t really replaced any of them,” he said in his post-match interview after losing to Portsmouth.

“We’re short in that department and we’re fully aware of that and the owner is fully aware of that and we’re aware of that as a group.”

His targets have been locked in and now all he can hope for is the transfer committee can get the job done by bringing them to the Memorial Stadium.

Some targets are obvious such as the long pursuit of Luke McCormick whilst Burnley’s Adam Phillips has also been offered to them.

We take a look however at the players that become available for loan towards the end of the transfer window.

Gavin Whyte

A player with international pedigree having regularly featured for the Northern Ireland football team. Whyte is out of favour at Cardiff City after returning from a loan spell at his former club Oxford United.

Ten assists last season and one goal shows that he’s more than capable of playing at that level, signing him would add that experience needed in the third tier.

Dion Pereira

Pereira enjoyed a good pre-season with Luton but so far has had to settle for just one EFL Cup appearance. He was on the bench against Birmingham City but has not been seen after playing in the defeat to Newport County.

Pereira had a loan spell in League Two at Bradford City during the second part of last season, scoring one goal which came against Rovers. If Rovers fans can remember, the 23-year-old caused some problems after opening the scoring and could be a strong option.

Josh Martin

Martin is not a part of Dean Smith’s plans and was not part of their pre-season camp and has instead been made to train with the under-23’s. The 20-year-old was on loan at Doncaster Rovers last season and is into his final year of his contract with Norwich willing to listen to offers.

Dean Smith said today “We are looking to get Josh a club,” so whether that is loan or a permanent, it could open the door to a potential move.

Martin has played in the Premier League with 32 minutes of match action there after being given a chance by Daniel Farke and also has Championship minutes under his belt. The loan at Doncaster saw him return four goals and three assists in 25 appearances but he could not help Doncaster survive. Martin is a versatile player and can play as an attacking midfielder and on both flanks, though his preference is as a left-sided winger.

D’Margio Wright-Phillips

The Stoke midfielder gave Rovers fans a glimpse as to what he can do when he played in a pre-season friendly at the Mem in late July.

D’Margio is also the son of Shaun Wright-Phillips, who played alongside Barton during their emergence at Man City, so he’d know what he’s getting from just a brief chat.

A move for Wright-Phillips might be slightly tricky given he scored the equaliser against Middlesbrough and came on against Sunderland. There was a feeling he might be loaned out following the arrival of Liam Delap but the Manchester City striker started and was then replaced by the grandson of Ian Wright.

Oliver Cooper

Kyle Joseph was a target for Rovers before he ended up joining Oxford United after Swansea’s desire to cover most of his wages. After missing out on the former Wigan man, could they link to another young Swan in their search for a wide player?

Cooper is predominantly an attacking midfielder but can play on both flanks, which is a similar trait to what Elliot Anderson offered from Newcastle United last season.

The 22-year-old was on loan at Newport County last year, playing 35 times in total with 10 assists and a goal to his name. Other young players such as Finn Azzaz at Plymouth Argyle have shown they can make the step up from League Two to the next division.

Cooper has been on the bench the past few games and came on as a substitute in the defeat to Luton, whilst the Swans aren’t expected to do any more business, so they may keep hold of one of their academy stars.