Joey Barton believes Ryan Loft will prove to be great value for money after finding his scoring form for Bristol Rovers this season.
The striker hit his fourth of the season in the 6-3 defeat to Lincoln City on Saturday, finishing with conviction from just inside the penalty area, though it proved to be mere consolation for the Gas on an otherwise chastening afternoon.
Loft has three goals to his name in League One this season and is already closing in on his tally of seven in all competitions across his appearances for Scunthorpe and the Gas in the fourth tier last term, and he appears to have edged ahead of John Marquis in the pecking order.
The 25-year-old joined Rovers in January from Scunthorpe for £50,000 – a fee confirmed by Barton – and thinks is progressing nicely after a slow start in the blue and white quarters, scoring just once for the Gas last season after his move from Glanford Park.
"I think he’s going to be a big player for us," Barton said I took him a little bit of time to settle and he’s getting better game by game. He could have had a hat-trick (against Lincoln).
"When you’re 6ft 4ins and 15 or 16st and you move at the level he’s at, he’s only 24 and I think his best years are out in front of him.
"£50,000 or whatever we spent on him, that will be a wise investment."
Barton has made clear he is happy with his attacking unit as a whole, with Aaron Collins scoring two more goals at the weekend, taking him top of the League One scoring charts with six in nine games to earn yet another team of the week nod.
And with loan signing Josh Coburn due to arrive from Middlesbrough next month once he has recovered from a knee injury, joining Loft, Collins and Marquis as Barton's frontline striking options, the believes Rovers will have plenty of firepower.
"We’ve got Josh Coburn to come and factor into that," Barton said. "He hasn’t been in the building yet and that’s another physical, mobile centre forward. Azza is on fire and he could have had a hat trick. He looks a real handful.
"It’s frustrating for me because I know what a good team and group I’ve got. The frustrating thing is I just can’t get them on the pitch at this moment, but we’re nine games in we’ve got 37 to go.
"We’ve played at three of the tougher places to go with Sheffield Wednesday and Derby County to go, and our fans are with us.
"I have no worries about where this group is at. The frustrating thing for me is I genuinely believe, when everyone is right, we are capable of pushing towards the summit of this division, but at this moment in time we don’t have all those components available."
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