Swindon Town’s rivals Bristol Rovers are wasting no time in building on their strong form to end the season with a quick start in the transfer market.
Rovers may have finished 14th in League Two last season, but Steve Evans managed to get them playing by the end, as no team picked up more points than them from the start of February until the end of the campaign, and they ended with a nine-match unbeaten run.
Much like Swindon did last season when Ian Holloway got them on a big run down the back straight and swiftly added Tom Nichols, Darren Oldaker, and James Ball early in the summer, Evans looks to be doing something similar.
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Bristol Live are reporting that they have snapped up Bradford City’s Irish defender Ciaran Kelly, warding off interest from an unnamed League One and League Two club in the process.
Evans tried to bring in the 27-year-old in January, but had a bid knocked back, and has now pounced following his release from Valley Parade after their play-off loss to Bolton Wanderers.
The defender has been a peripheral figure under Graham Alexander, starting just 12 games last season after making just 23 appearances in their promotion season, although he was a regular under Mark Hughes.
The recruitment drive does not end there, as they are in the process of wrapping up deals for two players Evans signed in January.
Kofi Balmer joined on loan from Motherwell during the mid-season rebuild at the Memorial Stadium, as did Richie Smallwood from Tranmere Rovers, and both players are not being offered new contracts at their parent clubs and will become permanent Gas players once their deals officially expire on June 30.
Evans is also looking to bring in a left-back before long to continue bolstering a squad that clearly hit form at the end of last season.
Rovers seem to be by far the most active side in League Two at this stage of the season, with everyone else still figuring out their targets and making enquiries about who might be available.
With a slightly quieter summer of recruitment expected at Swindon when compared to previous years, Holloway is still identifying his targets and speaking to people to ensure that he can add the right characters to his squad.
Last year was an outlier for Swindon, with two players joining in May, although getting business done prior to pre-season in late June is a priority.
