Bristol Rovers could seek repeat of Ian Holloway transfer success story after George Friend hint | OneFootball

Bristol Rovers have proved this route can work with the signing of Vitalijs Astafjevs that almost never happened

The 2024-2025 EFL winter transfer window is entering its closing stages and Bristol Rovers director of football George Friend recently gave a hint at one route the Gas may take during this window or the next.

After an intensely underwhelming season so far, it's clear that Rovers need to bring in support for a struggling squad currently flirting with the drop and there is expectation that they will do so before the window slams shut at 11pm on February 3rd - or 1pm for most other European markets.

Rovers weren’t going to be super busy this month due to the large turnover of players in the summer but the last few days look set to be interesting with the Gas, and Inigo Calderon, on the lookout for reinforcements.

Bristol Rovers may look beyond national borders for new recruits

Friend recently expressed his desire to look beyond national borders at players who may be eligible as “wildcard” selections.

Speaking during a week of revealing one-to-one interviews with Rovers senior staff team, Friend told of his aspiration for 2025 being the utilisation of the wildcard system which allows all League One and League Two teams to have two players within their squad who come under the Elite Significant Contributions regulations.

When asked about his targets for 2025, Friend told club media: “I would also like to explore the wildcard options, which is the players from abroad. We have two spots that we can use, and I think that would be a real exciting time for the club to look into the international market. That’s something that if the right person is there or people are there, we would look to do in 2025.”

The regulations and criteria Friend referred to can be complex but - in short (-ish) – in 2024-2025, the FA has to grant a Governing Body Endorsement in order for a player to obtain an International Sports Person Visa (or work permit) allowing them to work in the UK. Decided on a points-based system, to automatically qualify for a GBE, the player will need a certain amount of international caps in their locker, or reach 15 points based on a range of other factors.

Under recent changes, should they fail to make either threshold, the club can apply for the player to be considered an Elite Significant Contribution (ESC) player. The club must then demonstrate that player will make a significant contribution to football. As happened with former club icon Vitalijs Astafjevs back in January 2000.

Vitalijs Astafjevs is a Bristol Rovers icon who followed this path

The Gas have, of course, gone down this route many times before and one of those to be brought in using previous iterations of this system is former Gas midfielder and cult icon Vitalijs Astafjevs.

At one time he was the most capped European in international football history. The Latvian maestro was beloved by Gasheads who still revere him today. His unique style and ingenious flair makes him still considered by many one of the greatest midfielders to ever grace the blue and white quarters.

The Latvian signed from his hometown side Skonto Riga in January 2000, but despite all parties agreeing to a move, it wasn’t a certainty he would end up as a Rovers player as the midfielder would be denied a work permit. It took the manager at the time, Ian Holloway, to submit testimony to an FA tribunals panel for Astafjevs to be confirmed as a Bristol Rovers player.

As stated above, the Pirates are expected to be active in the closing stages of the window and, with friends' comments, there is a good chance one of those signings will be from overseas. And if they turn out to be even half the player Astafjevs was, then Gasheads will certainly welcome them into the Gas family.