Following a successful season in which Bristol Rovers achieved promotion to League One, Joey Barton is now looking ahead to next season with the hope of his side being able to retain their place in the league above. 

However, whilst planning for next season, the boss is also looking back at last season too. Connor Taylor spent the season on loan with Bristol Rovers from Stoke City and was a regular part of the side making 47 appearances in all competitions and scoring three goals.

The 20-year-old's impressive form saw him put pen to paper on a new three year deal with his parent club and Potters boss Michael O'Neill is said to be taking a look at the youngster before making any decisions about his future.

At the weekend, Stoke's head of football operations Andy Cousins admitted that the defender could still stay or be loaned out this summer with a while still to go in the transfer window.

However, Joey Barton has admitted that if he was to become available then he would be keen to get his former loan player back to the Memorial Stadium as he told Bristol Live: "Connor did great here last year and we will forever be grateful to him, but he isn't our player at the end of the day. You're in Stoke's hands on that.

"We'd love to have him back because he was a great fit for us and I think he enjoyed his time here and we certainly enjoyed his performances.

"If that options is there and Stoke want to loan him out we'd be delighted to have him back, but again he's not our player and he could play in their first team based on what I've seen. They will improve and get better, but Connor was a fantastic player for us.

"But as I said, it's disrespectful for me to talk bout their players."

The Verdict: 

There's no doubt that Taylor is a young player with plenty of talent and if he did stay put at Stoke this summer, he could well get some game time next season.

However, with him still at a young age, O'Neill may decide it makes more sense for him to go and get some regular game time next season instead.

If that does happen obviously it will be up to the Potters to weigh up what they see as the right next move but given he spent last season with Rovers and developed well, they may feel it's be to send him to somewhere he already knows making it easier for him to adjust. Furthermore, following their promotion, it would be another step up in his development too.