Joey Barton has promoted youngsters Zain Walker and Pablo Martinez to the Bristol Rovers first-team squad.
Dynamic forward Walker, 19, and 20-year-old defender Martinez caught the eye in Rovers' 2-1 under-23s friendly win over Bournemouth on Wednesday.
Barton and his staff watched the game from the sidelines at Melksham, with Walker netting the equaliser before Josh Hare struck the winner from the penalty spot.
And the manager believes the youngsters are worthy a place training alongside the first-team at The Quarters.
“We had a reserve game on Wednesday and young Zain Walker and Pablo Martinez, who I’d not seen before or weren’t training with the first team, impressed me so we’ve brought them across to the first-team group,” Barton said.
“Obviously Zain was there before. Pablo, we’ve only just discovered, so we’re still on a journey of discovery throughout the club.”
Walker was a part of Ben Garner’s squad at the start of the season, and he rewarded the academy graduate with two new contracts either side of pre-season, such was the impression he made in that period.
He has made three substitute appearances in the league for the Gas, the last of which came in December, but he had not been training with the first team since Barton’s arrival.
Martinez, meanwhile, joined Rovers’ development squad in the summer on a free transfer from West Bromwich Albion before joining National League South side Oxford City on loan.
He made 9 appearances of the sixth-tier side before their season was curtailed by the pandemic last month, and now he will get a crack in the first team setup.
“(I liked) their energy and endeavour, reactions to the flow of the game, their body language,” Barton explained when asked how the duo impressed him.
“I said to the boys during the game this might be the last chance I get my eyeballs on you. I can’t send people into battle who are not quite 100 per cent.
“I thought young Zain did superbly. He worked really hard and there was some good performances in there.
“It did give me a bit more clarity on the guys who haven’t been playing on a matchday for us, which was the whole purpose of the game.
“For me, at this point in time, it’s about gathering information. Not other people’s information, but my own, and the only way you can do that is by watching games and sessions.”
