Bristol Rovers have seen a resurgence since in their form under Steve Evans, and a big part of that is the new loanees signed in January.
However, where could they end up? I’ll be taking a look at where the 22/23 loanees are where Rovers finished 17th in League One.
Lewis Gibson joined on loan from Everton at the time. He was a stalwart in Joey Barton’s back line and scored a singular goal for the Gas in his time in the West County, which was the equaliser against a former loan club Fleetwood.
Rovers tried to resign him after his contract at Everton ran out but were outdone by title winners, Plymouth.
He signed in July of 2023 and was a standout in the Pilgrims bid for survival during that season. Which they succeeded, finishing 21st on the final day of the season with a win.
However the season after, it was not as successful. Plymouth finished 23rd in the Championship. Only winning 11 games. However, Gibson only played in 19 of those due to injury, a common occurrence in his career.
With Plymouths relegation to League One confirmed, he signed for Preston North End moving closer to home after his time down south.
Currently Preston sit 13th in the Championship. Gibson has played 24 times this season, one more than he managed through the entirety of last season at the Lilywhites. His contract expires in 2028.
A very odd one and probably the most forgettable in this list. Barton sent him back after the Bulgarian only made eight appearances for the club.
The Rovers manager declared he had been sent back because “He wasn’t happy with the minutes he was getting and he’s gone back to Fulham.” However Jasper denied this on social media.
After life at the Gas, he moved to Portimonense in Portugal for two seasons. Making 30 appearances in that time and racking up four goal contributions. After his contract expired, he moved to Śląsk Wrocław, in Poland.
Jasper played 21 times for the polish club without getting a goal contribution. His most recent club, and where he is now, is Zeleznicar Pancevo.
In the Serbian League, the winger has played 25 times. He has five goals and two assists this season with his contract expiring next year. Pancevo, who are nicknamed Diesel Engine in Serbian sit 5th in the 16 team-league.
Balcombe signed from Brentford after being at a host of clubs beforehand. He is still at Brentford now, after carrying on loans around the UK. His most recent loans were up in Scotland with St Mirren and Motherwell, where he played with current Gas loanee Kofi Balmer.
His time at the Gas was difficult, he only made eight appearances for the Gas. Fighting for the number 1 shirt with fan-favourite James Belshaw did not help his case.
The goalkeeper is 26 years old now and is still clearly thought of highly by Brentford however, his time at the Gas was fairly disappointing with some mistakes costing games and eventually loosing the first choice goalkeeper to Belshaw towards the end of the season.
Thomas joined on loan from Burnley in September 2022. He was impressive in his short stint at the club, he played 26 times and scored three times from centre-back. He was often used alongside Gibson in the defence and the duo had a great partnership.
However things did go slightly sour in January. His loan was terminated abruptly by Burnley as he joined Barnsley within hours of his departure being announced.
It came at an odd time for Rovers as defensive bodies were scarce. Current Rovers player Alfie Kilgour had moved to Mansfield, Gibson was injured, leaving Luca Hoole a traditional right-back to play centre-back. Gasheads felt hard done by with his exit with Rovers losing five of their next six after his departure.
After his loan deal with the Tykes concluded, Thomas moved to Coventry City, where he remains to this day. Coventry have finished in the Championship playoffs ever since he arrived and are pushing on the doors to the Premier League. They sit nine points clear at the top of the Championship with seven games remaining.
The Dutchman was a very interesting signing for Bristol Rovers. He looked incredible in his season at the Gas in central midfield. He played an impressive 18 games since joining in January.
His calmness on the ball and ball winning skills were a very useful asset to the Gas and although the ending of the season was disappointing. Bogarde was a big highlight for Gasheads at the time.
Because of his form in that season. Rovers fans were delighted when he re-joined on loan at the start of the next season.
He played the same amount of games for the Gas till January after his disappointing second spell came to an end in January. After new manager Matt Taylor had replaced Joey Barton.
Bogarde is now a frequent player for Aston Villa in the Premier League who are fourth in the table. He looks set for another season of European football although stepping up to the Champions League which is a huge achievement for him and the club.
The England U-19 European champion joined the Gas from Liverpool in January. It’s a shame because he was very disappointing for Bristol Rovers. Quansah played 16 times and it was very clear it was his first time in senior football. He was guilty of mistakes and overcomitting.
His debut for Rovers was a 5-1 loss to Morecambe. However, it is testament to his character that after his disappointing display for Bristol Rovers he was starting the next season for Liverpool.
After a few seasons at Liverpool, he earned a cap for England however fell out of favour with new manager Arnie Slot. Quansah moved to Bayer Leverkusen. They sit 6th in the Bundesliga and the Englishman has been competing in Europe with them.
Quansah was also recently called up for England Senior Squad for the upcoming national break.
It’s nice to see a former Rovers player do so well at the moment, although every time I see him I can not seem to think about his red card against Portsmouth for his headbutt against Louie Sibley.
Finally, Josh Coburn, my personal favourite and arguable the best performer in his season with the Bristol Rovers. The Young Middlesborough striker had scored the winner against Spurs in the FA Cup, the season prior.
Coburn played 40 times for the Gas and was known as the ‘Tee-side Haaland’ for his tall stature. He bagged 10 times over his time in the West Country and was a player Gasheads fell in love with.
Since his season at Rovers he returned to Middlesborough for a season. Then moved to Millwall on loan, eventually signing for the Lions permanently in July last year. He is on the brink of Premier League with Millwall sitting fourth in the league.
It’s crazy to think that five of the seven are playing at such a high level. Rovers had outsider play-off hopes in January but fell apart in 2023 eventually dropping to 17th by the end of the season.
It’s fascinating that the two that Bristol Rovers fans feel were most disappointing are playing at the highest level out of all of them and competed in Europe.
