Bristol Rovers casting eyes over ex-Middlesbrough player | OneFootball

A rollercoaster would be the simplest way of defining Bristol Rovers' start to the 2023/24 League One campaign.

Much excitement has been built up in the blue side of Bristol courtesy of a fresh ownership takeover and a busy summer window that saw the likes of Jack Hunt, Harvey Vale and Ryan Woods all join the club alongside the return of Aston Villa loan prospect Lamare Bogarde among others, and such optimism has been vindicated at times.

They've claimed some encouraging victories, ranging from a 2-1 triumph on the road at Charlton Athletic to a 4-1 demolition of Wigan Athletic, who were relegated from the Championship merely a matter of months ago.

Other results have leveled it out, though, and they've been left wanting a little bit more from frustrating defeats to sides such as Wycombe Wanderers, Cambridge United and most recently Oxford United, too.

Ultimately, they sit 13th at the time of writing after 11 matches played, and it serves to send out a fair reflection of their inconsistency.

It must be said that the Gas could probably do with a few extra bodies in the January transfer window, but boss Joey Barton is striving to enhance his wealth of options before the winter months roll around.

He's no stranger to optimising the often-shrewd free agent market and snapped up ex-Bristol City frontman Chris Martin by these means two weeks prior and he's not letting up on this front by running the rule over Daniel Ayala, who is currently on trial in the West Country.

Daniel Ayala on trial at Bristol Rovers

This revelation is according to BristolLive's Daniel Hargraves, who has disclosed that Barton's side currently have Ayala on trial ahead of a potential swoop.

The 32-year-old's deal at Championship outfit Blackburn Rovers reached its conclusion at the end of last season and he's since been a free agent, thus enabling him to train with clubs.

That's exactly what he's doing with Bristol Rovers at the moment, but the club's stance on signing him remains unclear as things stand.

The report also states that this opportunity came through George Friend, who was a long-term teammate of Ayala's at Middlesbrough and signed for Rovers on a free transfer this summer.

Would Daniel Ayala be a good signing for Bristol Rovers?

Ayala possesses pedigree that makes him stick out like a sore thumb in the third-tier of English football, and with that comes translatable qualities that he'd no doubt be able to incorporate into the squad such as know-how and leadership.

He's got over 270 Championship appearances under his belt and even turned out 26 times for Boro in the top-flight, so it's hard to contest how effective he could be in League One - even if he may not be quite the formidable force at the back that he once was.