Joey Barton has confirmed that Bristol Rovers have sent loanee Sylvester Jasper back to Fulham after the winger declared to him he was unhappy over his lack of first-team minutes.
Jasper signed for the Gas on summer transfer deadline day and has made six substitute appearances in League One, playing 80 minutes in total, and two starts in the EFL Trophy, including against Swindon Town on Tuesday night.
In the wake of that performance the 21-year-old appears to have communicated his frustration to Barton with a lack of first–team involvement and Rovers have made the decision to send him back to west London after just seven weeks.
Bristol Live understands that the loan has not been formally terminated but there appears no way back for the winger who, in a social media post, has appeared to deny Barton's version of events.
“He wasn’t happy with the minutes he was getting and he’s gone back to Fulham,” Barton said, following Rovers’ 2-2 draw with Plymouth Argyle at the Mem. “He’s obviously got disappointed and if you’re not happy… crack on. We’ve got Scott Sinclair, we just keep moving forward. We’ve made the decision.
“I get when people aren’t playing, they get disappointed. I mean, Josh Coburn was disappointed he’s not playing today, we’ve probably got eight-nine lads disappointed they’re not playing but you’ve got to channel that into performance and what you can’t do is allow the outside world to see that disappointment.
“We’re moving really fast here and if you want to be part of this, then you’ve got to buy into it absolutely. If not then you can crack on and there are 91 other professional clubs you can go and play for.”
But a few minutes after the club tweeted confirmation of Jasper's exit due to a frustration over a lack of minutes, he replied on the social media platform, he replied with the message: "That's not the reason why I'm back at Fulham. However, I want to thank everyone involved at Bristol for their support during my time there, and I wish the club all the best for the future."
Jasper’s departure has also coincided with the arrival of Scott Sinclair on a short-term deal until January with the 33-year-old making his second debut for the Gas with an appearance off the bench in injury time against Plymouth.
That was Sinclair’s first competitive game since the end of April, when he was still under contract at Preston North End, and as Barton indicated through the week, Rovers’ new No7 will need time to get up to full match speed.
Sinclair effectively took Jasper’s place in the matchday 18, with Barton claiming the former loanee’s attitude ran contrary to the team spirit and character he’s built and will continue to develop at the Gas.
“We have an ethos and principles here and if those aren’t respected then we don’t want you in our football club,” Barton added.
“He’s a talented boy, he’ll have a decent career and he’ll learn valuable lessons. It’s been explained to Fulham the reasons why and we wish him well. He had a couple of cameos for us but we have a lot of good players here and we haven’t got time to waste on disappointment.”
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