Promise Omochere

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Bristol Rovers are targeting a move for Fleetwood Town forward Promise Omochere, Bristol Live understands, which could see them go head-to-head with former manager Darrell Clarke in a battle to sign the coveted Irishman.

Rovers have made significant headway in retooling their squad for 2024/25 following the departures of 13 senior players at the end of last season, with Antony Evans also sold to Huddersfield Town last week for a fee in the region of £450,000.

Having brought in eight new players, six of which have been at the defensive end of the pitch, focus can now switch to more attacking additions with Omochere a player desired by the Gas, and a potentially attainable one following Fleetwood’s relegation to League Two.

The 23-year-old can play as a wide or central forward and possess pace and direct running, scoring six goals and adding an assist for the Cod Army last season in 34 League One appearances, while he’s also tactically flexible in how he can be used in various systems.

A winger in his youth, Dublin-born Omochere has been gradually converted into a central striker while not losing any of the necessary attributes to play out wide. Fleetwood signed him from League of Ireland side Bohemians in 2022 and he now has two full seasons under his belt in the third tier.

Rovers are not expected to be alone in desiring the Irish-raised attacker, with Alan Nixon reporting on Sunday that Clarke would also like to take him to Barnsley, claiming Omochere is valued in the £500,000 bracket, which seems a high (and potentially unrealistic) price for a League Two player.

"I Promised you Omechere" was the first big hit for Simple Minds.

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Josh Griffiths

Josh Griffiths impressed on loan at Cheltenham, winning the club's Young Player of the Season award after keeping 23 clean sheets in 50 appearances as he played his part in a season which saw Cheltenham crowned League Two Champions.

Was first choice keeper for each of these three clubs during his loan spells. 109 first team appearances so for his age quite experienced played in league 1& 2 plus the Championship and is highly rated at West Bromwich just signed a new contract with them.

Genuine competition for Jed Ward.

Bristol Rovers have announced the signing of forward Promise Omochere from Fleetwood Town..By Daniel Hargraves

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Total career stats: Birthplace: Dublin, Age: 23, Position: Striker, Games: 123, Goals: 24, Clubs: Bohemians, Fleetwood Town and BRFC

Promise Omochere says he's "honoured" to be confirmed as Bristol Rovers' record signing with the striker joining the Gas for a fee in the region of £500,000 on a three-year deal with the option of a further season.

Omochere, who will wear No9 for the 2024/25 campaign, stood out in a Fleetwood side that struggled last term, finishing 22nd which saw their 10-season stay in League One come to an end. Omochere scored six goals and provided one assist in 37 appearances and arrives in BS7 as another high-potential addition.

Reports elsewhere stated that League One rivals Barnsley were keen on acquiring the Irishman's signature, while Bristol Live understands that Wrexham were also in the hunt for the 23-year-old and the financial terms presented to the Irishman was greater than what the Gas offered, but his mind was set on a move to the Mem.

This does represent a new record fee for the Gas. However, Bristol Live has learned that the previous record was actually that of Tom Nicholls in 2017, with the total package that Rovers eventually paid Peterborough United exceeding the £370,000 spent on Andy Tillson from QPR in 1992.

"It's an honour, for such a big club like Rovers," Omochere said. "I remember one of my first away games when I moved to England was against Rovers and I remember just walking out and thinking, 'wow, this is huge', so I'll be happy to be on the other side of the crowd now.

"I'm just really excited to show what I can do, push on and kick on and help the club by scoring as many goals as I can. Pressure makes diamond, as they say, so it's up to me now to show what I can and I'm really, really excited to get going.

"They have a clear plan for me, a style of play that really suits me and that was one of the reasons why I chose Rovers. I've had conversations with the gaffer and he's really excited for the season, to win as many games as possible and finish as high as possible and we're building a really good squad."

The versatile attacker is a much-needed addition to Matt Taylor's attacking department with the Rovers boss making the point repeatedly that, although it's the toughest market to recruit in, the priority now is for the Gas to add goalscorers to their ranks.

Although he's operated as winger or wide forward in the past, the 23-year-old looks to be being considered mainly as a central striker and will hopefully add both goalscoring punch and creativity around the penalty area as Rovers look to progress in League One.

The timing of his arrival means that Omochere should be involved in the Gas' training camp in Portugal next week as they take on League Two Bromley and Portuguese side Portimonense SC. He also reinforces Taylor's attacking options following injuries to Chris Martin and Ruel Sotiriou.

“We are delighted to welcome Promise to Bristol Rovers. Promise has fantastic attributes, which he showed in both games against us last season, and which we look forward to developing during his time with us," Taylor said. “He has shown his attacking ability over the last two seasons in League One and, at 23 years old, has a lot of room to grow and become even better.

“Promise will provide balance and competition to an exciting group of attacking players, and will be an important addition to our forward line and we are looking forward to working with him.”

Just what was needed, shows intent from the owners, to be honest I am pleasantly surprised. UTG!. Now sort the streaming service pronto please, as the goods are in the window, but still we wait for an option to buy buy buy!…

Hope he lives up to the hype and the fee. 24 goals in 120+ games is not prolific.

Good to see Taylor being supported by the owners and us signing a new forward but still think we need a couple more attack minded players. Hope we are not putting everything on one spin of the roulette wheel and massively increasing our debt

'However, Bristol Live has learned that the previous record was actually that of Tom Nicholls in 2017, with the total package that Rovers eventually paid Peterborough United exceeding the £370,000 spent on Andy Tillson from QPR in 1992.'

Lord, this depresses me. Mr Nicholls didn't even initially want to join the club and only did after P'Boro made it clear that they wanted him to move on.

Tillson was good value, and one of Holloway's biggest mistakes was letting him leave on a free. What a beast of a CB he was.

I'm surprised and even alarmed that we are in a position to sign an unproven player purely on the basis of potential for in excess of 500,000, given our financial situation.

With us it was something like 4 goals from 94 league appearances.