Bristol Rovers have worked themselves into an unenviable player position as Huddersfield Town lurk: View | OneFootball

Bristol Rovers have a balance to strike amid interest from Huddersfield Town and Portsmouth in Antony Evans

Bristol Rovers look set to lose one of their most influential players in recent years and will have to choose between selling their best player – potentially for less than his value – or allowing him to potentially run down his contract.

You could say several permutations still exist for this particular scenario and Bristol Rovers may still have a fragment of hope that one of those involves Antony Evans signing a new contract. More likely though, perhaps, is the departure of a player who will be fondly remembered for his three-year stay so far at the club. And who may go down as one of Bristol Rovers' greatest ever midfielders.

Up to the end of last season, Evans had made 142 appearances for Bristol Rovers, scoring 26 times with 26 assists. Evans was Player of the Season for the Gas last campaign and has been one of the EFL’s standout performers across his time at the club.

Bristol Rovers have reportedly turned down an offer for Evans from a fellow League One rival. Huddersfield Town are the second side to join the hunt publicly for Evans' signature, joining the reports of interest from last season’s League One Champions Portsmouth.

Bristol Rovers appear to have made several offers to Antony Evans to extend his stay at the Mem, with team Manager Matt Taylor telling BBC's Having a Gas last season that: “Throughout the course of the season, there were discussions, and offers have gone out… We want him here.”

Evans has so far declined those offers and now, into the final 12 months of his contract, the Rovers' leadership may not be able to haggle for too long.

It's a bit of an unenviable position for Rovers, who will know that should they keep rejecting offers for their star player which results in teams pulling out of the hunt to sign Evans, not only might he become unsettled and resentful, but they might also lose the opportunity to make a decent profit from his sale.

If you wander into the dangerous territory of assumption and assume his valuation will already be reduced as it becomes cheaper for a potential suitor to buy out the remainder of the contract. His valuation today might be in the range of £650,000 - £750,000 plus add-ons from potential future achievements, and Rovers and supporters alike would expect to see that valuation met.

However, the longer any negotiation goes on, the more the reality might be very different, and the Gas may have to settle for much less than their asking price.

It's currently unclear what Bristol Rovers' value is

It’s unclear currently what the asking price actually is for Evans and, as much as Rovers might deem it not to be absolutely essential that his departure raises a fee – with the club in a reasonable financial position – taking a gamble on his contract in the hope of Rovers achieving success, this campaign is probably not smart business.

Aside from the financial risk, it risks him becoming unsettled and in turn unsettling the rest of the squad. Evans doesn’t come across as someone who would be comfortable in that situation, so that may not be much of a concern. Nonetheless, the deeper we go into the season with the window still open and Evans’ future still unclear, it will be sure to have some negative hold over the club.