Bristol Rovers must be on red alert to new Barnsley FC transfer news | OneFootball

Max Watters will be looking for a new club this summer, and a return to League Two could be on the cards

Max Watters will be searching for a new club this summer, after it was revealed that his Barnsley contract will not be renewed.

The 27-year-old was left out of former Tykes head coach Conor Hourihane's plans this season, following a stop-start campaign in 2024/25 when he netted just five League One goals in 30 games.

He spent the most recent campaign on loan in Scotland with Dundee United, and despite an encouraging start to life with the Terrors, scoring three times across both legs of their penalty defeat against Rapid Vienna in UEFA Conference League qualifying, he would fail to impress.

Watters scored just twice throughout the rest of the season, and in the end, it understandably wasn't enough encouragement for Barnsley to keep him at Oakwell, who released him this summer.

The 27-year-old hasn't been able to find his feet at a club for quite a while, not since he excelled in League Two with Crawley Town in the 2020/21 campaign. Perhaps a fourth-tier return should be on the cards, and Bristol Rovers should be eager to be at the front of that queue.

Bristol Rovers should turn to Max Watters if Fabrizio Cavegn moves on this summer

There's understandably a lot of optimism surrounding Bristol Rovers this summer, despite a fourth-tier return which resulted in a bottom-half finish - their lowest finish in the pyramid since their one-year stay in the National League in the 2014/15 term.

But the way the Gas ended the campaign has generated some good feelings around the Memorial Ground.

Bristol Rovers ended the season under Steve Evans as the most in-form side in the division, losing just one of their final 14 games against eventual champions Bromley, and winning eight straight ahead of their final-day draw against play-off finalists Notts County.

New recruit Fabrizio Cavegn would end the campaign as the Pirates' top scorer, netting 15 in all competitions after arriving from Swiss side FC Vaduz in the summer. However, he began to fall out of favour towards the end of the term.

The 23-year-old started just one of their final six league games, failing to come off the bench in two of those, and questions have been floated around whether he'll be in Steve Evans' plans for 2026/27.

Cavegn wasn't transfer-listed, but reports earlier this month have stated that the Gas have already rejected an offer from a League One club for his services. If any interest returns and a sizeable offer comes in, Bristol Rovers may be inclined to accept it, especially if he remains a squad option in Evans' first full season in charge.

Replacing Cavegn with Watters, who is entering the prime years of his career, on a free transfer, could be a smart option, especially if the 27-year-old can return to the peak of his powers that he exhibited back in League Two with Crawley in 2020.

A return to League Two could provide the base for Max Watters to return to his best

Back in January 2021, then-Championship play-off hopefuls Cardiff City spent a reported £1 million on a 21-year-old Watters following an electric few months with Crawley in League Two, and at the time, it seemed a steal.

Watters joined the Red Devils after leaving non-league outfit Maidstone United, and immediately hit the ground running, scoring a brace off the bench on his debut against Morecambe.

Another double against Mansfield Town and a hat trick against Barrow, alongside other goalscoring outings, meant that he went into January with a remarkable 16 goals in 19 games in all competitions, and plenty of suitors higher up the EFL.

Unfortunately, though, that move to South Wales derailed his momentum exponentially, as he'd be nothing more than a fringe player in the second tier. He made just three Championship appearances in the second half of that season and was left on the bench in 13 games.

He managed to get some of that momentum back on loan with MK Dons in League One in the first half of the 2021/22 campaign, scoring seven in 14 in all competitions, but he would then be recalled by Cardiff. After scoring on his return, he'd soon be sidelined with an ankle injury, emphasising the bad luck he had while in the Welsh capital.

Watters has been unable to recapture that scoring touch since. He was a useful bench option for Barnsley as they finished in the play-offs in back-to-back seasons, but never improved from that role, and after being sent out on loan last summer, the writing was on the wall in terms of his future at Oakwell.

But that goalscoring nature is still in there. He just needs the base to rediscover it. A Bristol Rovers side desperate to make a promotion charge next season could be exactly what he needs.