With releases and loan returns, Bristol Rovers have effectively lost 13 players and will hope that does not grow with three granted new contracts.
Bristol Rovers has confirmed that Sam Finley, John Marquis, Josh Grant, Lewis Gordon, James Gibbons, Harvey Greenslade, and Ryan Jones will leave the club when their contracts expire next month. Rovers has also offered new contracts to Jordan Rossiter, Scott Sinclair, and Luca Hoole, as well as triggering the one-year extension options in Chris Martin and Jerry Lawrence’s contracts.
The Gas released their retained list on Wednesday afternoon, with the greatest surprises being that Lewis Gordon will not be continuing with the club and that academy product Harvey Greenslade will be departing his boyhood club.
Finley’s departure was reportedly confirmed by the club captain himself on social media, while John Marquis and Josh Grant struggled for playing time under Matt Taylor in the second half of the season. Additionally, James Gibbons spent the second half of the season with League One rivals Cambridge United.
Gordon, on the other hand, has begun to establish himself as a regular in recent months, appearing in 15 of 16 matches between late January and early April, 10 of which were starts. However, the 23-year-old remained on the bench in recent games against Cheltenham, Cambridge, and Peterborough before being dropped outright for last weekend’s final game against Wigan.
Greenslade made just one senior appearance for Rovers, coming in last season’s EFL Trophy and spent this campaign out on loan, initially at Truro City before going up a division to Oxford City who couldn’t avoid relegation in their first season in the National League. During that time though, the 20-year-old striker has been training with Rovers at The Quarters while he netted three goals in the fifth tier.
Finley’s exit will also leave a sizeable hole that’ll need filling with the captain a key member of the dressing room having been integral to the side that secured promotion from League Two two years ago while helping the Gas consolidate their place in League One over the past two seasons. However, with no appearances since April 1, it’s started to become more apparent that the midfielder wasn’t in Taylor’s plans.
The same can be said for Marquis, who has been unlucky in some ways with Martin’s form limiting him to bench games, but the striker last scored before Christmas and last played from the bench in the 2-0 defeat to Bolton Wanderers early last month.
Grant, a versatile midfielder who has mostly played at centre-back this season, is one of Rovers’ longest-serving players, having arrived from Chelsea in July 2020. Prior to this season, injuries have derailed the 25-year-old’s stint with the club, particularly last season, when he only appeared once from the bench. However, 36 matches this term made him a regular in the first half of the season, but game time under Taylor has been limited with the 25-year-old last playing in the 1-0 win at Leyton Orient two months ago.
