Bristol Rovers are free to sign long-term transfer target Callum Camps after Stockport County turned their attention elsewhere in the market.
Camps was believed to be bound for Edgeley Park but manager Dave Challinor has instead elected to sign former Bristol City academy player Connor Lemonheigh-Evans from Torquay and Akil Wright from York City in midfield.
Although Stockport have a significant budget for League Two, the arrivals of Lemonheigh-Evans and Wright effectively make up the intended salary for Camps, so are seen as better value additions in the context of where they are for the League Two season ahead.
Sources in the north west indicate that Camps is no longer on the agenda, leaving Rovers as the most likely destination for the 26-year-old who played under Joey Barton at Fleetwood Town and very nearly signed for the Gas in January.
Camps was on the verge of a move just before deadline day but Fleetwood were unwilling to send him out, despite his expiring contract, and Rovers quickly switched focus to Elliot Anderson from Newcastle United on loan.
Anderson was a driving force behind Rovers’ League Two promotion run in the second half of the season and while Barton would ideally like to bring him back to north Bristol for another campaign in blue and white, those prospects look increasingly unlikely.
Anderson is wanted by a number of Championship clubs, with Millwall reportedly front-runners, plus Newcastle are unlikely to make a decision on where he’ll be playing his football for 2022/23 until Eddie Howe has had a proper look at him in pre-season.
Ultimately, Rovers can’t wait too long to see how such scenarios could develop and there is a will to get some transfer business done in the coming fortnight as the Gas return to The Quarters for pre-season training.
Rovers have secured playmaker Antony Evans on a three-year contract, a significant summer boost given he had offers elsewhere in League One, but with Anderson, Sam Nicholson and Luke Thomas departing - albeit with a chance the latter could return on loan or a permanent deal - creativity is required from midfield.
Bristol Live understands that earlier this month, Camps’ choice was essentially between Stockport, who play in a division lower, but would allow him to remain in the north west, or Rovers. Unless that situation has dramatically changed, the Gas could move quickly on the 26-year-old.
Barton is also considering another former Fleetwood player in midfielder Jordan Rossiter. The 25-year-old is under contract at Highbury Stadium but is understood to be an option the Gas are exploiting.
Barton brought the former Liverpool academy product to Fleetwood from Rangers in 2020, initially on loan and then a permanent deal, and he has made 65 appearances for the Cod Army, captaining the team during last season.
A deeper-lying midfielder than Camps, Rossiter is a dynamic and tough tackling player who brings real authority on the field and would provide support and competition to Paul Coutts, Sam Finley and Josh Grant, with the latter increasingly used as a wing-back by Barton.
The Scouser scored on his Liverpool debut in a League Cup clash against Middlesbrough in 2014, aged just 17, becoming the club's second-youngest ever goalscorer behind Michael Owen. But he was unable to make the first-team breakthrough at Anfield and signed for Rangers in 2016.
Rossiter's high-level technique and character very much fits the profile of the sort of personalities Barton would like to continue to add to the dressing room with the 25-year-old also bringing leadership attributes.
As widely reported, Luke McCormick is also on Rovers’ long list in midfield but the length of the 23-year-old’s contract at AFC Wimbledon and the fact new head coach Johnnie Jackson is under little pressure to sell, makes a move unlikely at this stage.
The Rovers transfer picture is a complex one with multiple players across multiple positions and a budget to work within.
Bristol Live understands there are more than 70 players who have been under consideration since the end of last season. There are “top targets” as such, but the Gas will also be dictated to an extent by what other clubs and players do in the market, which could create opportunities further down the line, as appears to be the case with Stockport signing Wright instead of Camps.
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