Blackburn Rovers have turned down two loan offers from League One clubs for midfielder John Buckley according to the Lancashire Telegraph.
Buckley caught the eye with some impressive showings last season for Rovers, having made 23 appearances in total for them as they finished 11th in the Championship.
But it remains to be seen as to whether he's part of their short-term plans ahead of the 2020/21 league campaign, with Tony Mowbray having some strong options already available to him.
Speaking in an interview with the Lancashire Telegraph, Mowbray confirmed that there have been two League One clubs that have registered their interest in signing Buckley on loan.
"I have had two managers phone me about John Buckley and ask what we’re doing with him.
"I’ve discussed it with my staff and for now he’s going to stay with us because the numbers are small and it’s not the right thing at this moment to send John out."
The Rovers boss went on to reveal that he could well break into the first-team consistently this season, but is keen to see Buckley continue his development in senior football.
"In an ideal world John to go out and play 40 games in League One wouldn’t be the worst thing for him, but at this moment he’s going to stay with us and there’s every chance he could break in to our starting XI and stay there through his performance.
“I think John has to keep developing."
Blackburn take on AFC Bournemouth in their opening match of the 2020/21 season, in what is certain to be a tricky test for Buckley and his team-mates.
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The Verdict:
It'll be interesting to see what the future holds for him.
Buckley is clearly highly-rated by Tony Mowbray, but like he said, he needs to be playing regularly to further his development in senior football.
I think Blackburn have better options available to them personally, and if they can't guarantee him regular minutes, then they need to look at sending him out on loan.