Bristol Rovers slash agent spending while Sunderland…

Bristol Rovers slash agent spending while Sunderland and Hull City pay big fees

Bristol Rovers have more than halved their spending on agents over the past year, FA documents have revealed.

The Gas paid £62,108 to intermediaries over the past two transfer windows, significantly down from the £141,006 bill they racked up in 2019/20.

Rovers rank 15th in League One for intermediary spending, with Hull City and Sunderland the biggest spenders, though the Black Cats shaved almost £1million off their total for the previous year.

Crewe Alexandra, Swindon Town and Wigan Athletic spent minimally, but Gillingham remarkably did not pay a single penny to agents from February 1, 2020 to February 1, 2021.

League One clubs collectively paid £3,082,105 to agents, almost a quarter less than near £4million forked out the year before – likely due to the reduced transfer activity amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The Premier League and Championship paid £272,220,223 and £40,753,529 to intermediaries respectively, while the bill for League Two clubs was £1,069,115.

The Gas have been eager to increase sustainability over the past couple of years, in hope of cutting annual losses in the region of £3million, which led to owner Wael Al-Qadi capitalising debts of £18million last year.

The sustainability effort, which director of football Tommy Widdrington has been tasked with, is underpinned a change in recruitment model, focusing on younger players who could become valuable assets to sell down the line, in addition to bringing success on the pitch.

While cutting their player spending and the wage bill may have helped Rovers on the balance sheet in the short term, the recruitment over the past two windows has drawn huge criticism from supporters with the Gas facing the threat of relegation.

Rovers signed 17 players across the two transfer windows this season, but few have matched expectations thus far.

The club are unlikely to rip up their plans after just a few transfer windows, but their recruitment will have to improve this summer, regardless of what division they find themselves in.