Joey Barton's spot on BBC Radio Bristol's Having A Gas on Thursday left plenty of talking points as excitement transfers from this season to next for Bristol Rovers supporters.
One comment about James Connolly – a hero of Rovers' promotion to League One – was of interest. Barton, having declared his willingness to re-sign all of Rovers' five loan signings from their promotion campaign, spoke specifically on the centre-back after Geoff Twentyman posed the question about the player's future at Cardiff City.
"I’m not 100 per cent sure," Barton admitted. "I still think he’s got a year left at Cardiff. He was an amazing signing at the time and played well beyond his years."
Connolly's situation is not entirely dissimilar to fellow loan stars Connor Taylor and Luke Thomas, of Stoke City and Barnsley respectively. Taylor and Thomas return to their parent clubs with their managers – Barnsley are yet to appoint one – set to assess them in pre-season before deciding their next steps.
Connolly, however, is out of contract at Cardiff, but the situation is not clear cut. It is understood Cardiff have tabled the defender the offer of a new deal which is under consideration. The club also has a one-year option in their favour that can be triggered this summer if they wish.
Should talks break down and the option not be taken up, any EFL club that signs the 20-year-old would be required to pay compensation to Cardiff as he is an under-24 player.
Cardiff boss Steve Morison, like Michael O'Neill with Taylor at Stoke, wants to look at Connolly in pre-season to see if the centre-half is first-team ready after his stellar spell with the Gas. Cardiff could need a defensive rebuild this summer with Aden Flint, Sean Morrison and Ciaron Brown among players out of contract next month.
The result is that Bluebirds hold most of the cards, one of the compromises managers must make when dealing in the loan market.
Rovers are not without factors in their favour, though. The club has amassed incredible momentum under Barton in recent months and Connolly has seen first-hand the project being built in BS7 – he could not have received a better sales pitch than the Hollywood-esque run to the finish line the Gas enjoyed.
And should Cardiff and the defender agree to renewed terms in one way or another, that does not necessarily shut the door on Rovers' interest either. Another loan certainly is not out of the question next season and Rovers would be a logical choice in every sense, offering guaranteed minutes at a higher level than previously in a geographically sensible location.
But the reality is Barton and Gasheads alike will have to play the waiting game when it comes to pursuing their loan heroes again. Pre-season will begin in late June and it could take several weeks for parent clubs to settle on decisions.
Connolly made 24 appearances for the Gas, scoring once while having a transformative impact on their defensive record.
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