Taylor’s early interest and personal appeal: How Bristol Rovers beat EFL clubs to sign Dan Ellison

Five signings in five days have certainly whetted Gasheads’ appetites ahead of Bristol Rovers’ upcoming season in League One, with more arrivals expected at The Quarters in the coming weeks.

Silence was never a concern, or at least it wasn’t for some, with the transfer window only officially opening two weeks ago. However, if Rovers had gone into pre-season without announcing at least one signing, given the scale of the recruitment job required this summer, concerns would rightly have been rife.

Clinton Mola and Ruel Sotiriou are both players who played against Gas in League One last season for Reading and Leyton Orient respectively, while Isaac Hutchinson faced Rovers while on loan at Crawley Town during the promotion season in League 2 and was an unused substitute for Southend. United in both games against Gas in the 2019/20 season. Bryant Bilongo is admittedly a bit of an unknown for Rovers, having most recently played on loan in the National League with Ebbsfleet United.

Additionally, as technology improves and the game becomes more data-driven, even further down the pyramid, it’s relatively simple to find video footage of signs or read reviews – we’re all guilty of thinking a player will rely on a world beat. on a single YouTube compilation reel.

However, there isn’t that much material on Dan Ellison’s game, with the 19-year-old centre-back joining from Chippenham Town in the National League South.

The teenager became Rovers’ fourth signing of the summer, sealing his first professional contract in the game after an impressive breakthrough season in the sixth tier. With 30 appearances for the Bluebirds last term, as well as spells on loan at Devizes Town and on dual registration terms at Westbury United, Ellison has had a taste of the men’s game but, of course, making it to League One level is a big leap. .

Video footage of the young defender in action is available, albeit limited, but you can only get so much of an idea of ​​what a player is like or will do, especially at this age, from such content. When it comes to knowing the teenager as both a player and a person, Chippenham manager Gary Horgan is one of the best primary sources.

“To be honest, if I take a few steps back, I think he might have been on a tour of EFL clubs in the UK at some point last year,” Horgan told Bristol Live. “We had everyone from the EFL and the National League coming to watch him.

“I spoke to George (Friend) quite early in the process and they said at the time, ‘Look, we’re really into him.’ We managed to get him into training with them so once he got in with them he kind of looked and then he had a lot of interest which he looked at at Brentford from the Premier League to League Two, but there are probably three or four who have sustained concrete interest.

“It’s been a few weeks, months in the making and something we’ve had to sit on for a while. Matt Taylor jumped at the chance to call him and that wasn’t the case with the other offers he had on the table. I think he felt that Matt made the effort to call him, which helped his decision.”

As the Chippenham boss mentioned, Ellison had the opportunity to train with Rovers towards the end of last season as he decided where to go with a number of cards on the table. Along with Brentford, Championship side Derby County was another big name keen on the defender.

However, with the teenager’s brains yet to be picked, one would have to assume that one factor that actually fell in Gas’ favor was the lack of a development team. At 19, the defender wouldn’t have broken into Rovers’ under-18s, so naturally he’ll be straight into the senior mix, which, you’d assume, couldn’t be said of interested under-19 clubs . -21s sides.

Of course, it’s still unclear how soon we can expect to see Ellison’s name on the League One team sheet, especially considering he has centre-backs with hundreds of EFL appearances between them in James Wilson, Connor Taylor and James Connolly. However, it has to be said that there has been some growth in the last year and a half.

“He entered our academy 18 months ago as part of our open trials,” added Horgan. “He came in and did really well, and as part of that, we’re trying to get our guys into gears three, four and five. He was at Westbury at step four and did very well there.

“We really had someone on loan from a Championship club at the time as a centre-half and we felt Dan, because we were trying to promote from within, was someone who showed the same kind of ability, if not better. So we felt we would give him an opportunity, after doing really well at step four, to break into the first team at step two and he hasn’t looked back.

“He performed admirably and to have played so many games at our level for someone who had just turned 18 at the time is a credit to him.”

As well as researching and analyzing players’ games, character reviews are also incredibly important, with the general consensus from those who know the new Rovers defender being that he boasts an incredibly mature head on his young shoulders, with a desire to to learn and improve.

In terms of play, however, comfort on the ball was a common theme when wondering about the teenager’s game, as was his aggression, particularly when attacking from set pieces, hence the four goals scored for the Wiltshire side last season.

“Probably a year before, in the under-19s,” added the Chippenham manager when asked when he first realized Ellison could make his first team.

“Our under-19s did the double the year before and, believe it or not, he was the top scorer. A number of corners, the way he attacks the ball. I don’t think anyone at our club attacks corners and dead balls .the ball situations as well as he did. We knew he could handle it physically, it was just if we were able to be consistent and he showed that in his time at step four.

“Like I said, I had a feeling he was going to be close to it and then, funnily enough, luck favored him because a boy I risked hurting. He took his chance and did what I thought he could do.”

The potential is clearly there and will need to be fueled with good training, but what will be particularly interesting is if a similar type of deal is completed again before the end of the summer.

In Rovers’ official confirmation of the signing on Thursday, Taylor’s quotes included reference to the manager’s desire to build relationships with local non-league clubs to help attract talent, saying: “The local non-league scene will continue, of also be closely monitored as we look to increase links with all clubs near the Bristol area.”

It’s always positive to hear for managers in the local non-league scene, with Horgan further adding to that by insisting it speaks both ways. “A few years ago we took Harvey Greenslade from Rovers,” said the Bluebirds boss. “I know he had to move from Rovers to continue his career, but if we can help Bristol Rovers develop some of their young players, ultimately we like to develop our own, but we need good networking in and around our local clubs. Bristol Rovers, Bristol City, Swindon, Cheltenham, if we can help them and they help us, then absolutely.

“Clubs at our level rely on good relationships with their local clubs so hopefully that should be the aim. If we can help develop their talent and by all means move some of our talent through their system, then it’s a win-win for everyone. right?”