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Bristol Post
Bristol Post
Sport
David Byrom

Bristol Rovers monitoring Scottish Premiership side's star winger after contract talks stall - report

Bristol Rovers are reportedly tracking St Johnstone star winger Drey Wright.

The Herald report that Gas boss Ben Garner is a big fan of Wright and has been monitoring the winger's progress following an almost year-long absence through injury.

Wright moved to St Johnstone from Colchester United in 2018 after making 135 appearances for the Essex side in a six-year spell.

Drey Wright in action for Colchester United (Getty)

Yet his first season in Scotland was cruelly cut short in November 2018 following a knee injury against Kilmarnock, and he made his return to playing in August last year.

Wright's form since returning has been very good, and he has become a regular in the St Johnstone team.

Yet the 24-year-old is out of contract in the summer, which is said to have alerted the Gas to his potential availability.

St Johnstone manager Tommy Wright says he is desperate to keep his star winger, particularly after losing Matty Kennedy to Aberdeen for £70,000.

Wright said: "He is someone — and there are others — I’ve informed the club I want signed.

“Ideally I would have liked it done earlier, but we had other pressing issues in the window.

“I don’t see as a club how we could possibly lose Drey and Matty in the one season.

“So hopefully it will get sorted out.

“I don’t use injuries as an excuse, but losing Drey last year was a massive blow. I think it affected us.

"We’d have won more games and got those extra points which would have got us into the top six."

The Gas will no doubt be looking for wingers in the summer, with January signings Josh Ginnelly and Jayden Mitchell-Lawson's loan deals only running until the end of the season.

At 24, Wright would no doubt fit the sort of player that Rovers have been looking to sign under Garner - someone with potential to grow under a technically-talented coach.

Wright's stats show a player who likes to run with the ball - he averages 5.47 successful dribbles a game this season, which is a 45.3 per cent success rate - and he is also fairly strong in the air.

On average, he has set up one shot per game and plays 3.2 successful passes into the box every match.

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