Former Salford City manager Richie Wellens reserved praise for Jerry Yates over the Easter period as the striker helped fire Blackpool to a 4-1 victory against Gillingham on Easter Monday.

The Tangerines are very much in the mix to earn a play-off place this season in Sky Bet League One and Yates has been at the forefront of that with his goals and assists.

He bagged two more strikes in the win over the Gills and Wellens, speaking to EFL on Quest, was full of praise for him.

He said:

“I love Jerry Yates to bits. He’s good at everything, decent pace, hold up play, confident finish in his 1vs1 today and it’s brilliant how he gets across his man at the front post for his second goal.

“He’s a brilliant professional and I want him to get the most he can out of his career.”

The Verdict

Both Bristol City and Nottingham Forest have been linked with the forward of late by Football Insider and the summer could well provide a fork in the road in terms of his career path.

Certainly, you get the feeling he is now good enough to try his hand in the Championship and it just remains to be seen if Blackpool can offer him that or if he is going to need to move in the summer to get into the second tier.