Brentford man returns from loan spell away as the Bees face summer transfer decision

Bristol Rovers have confirmed that Ellery Balcombe has gone back to Brentford following the end of the League One season. The goalkeeper will now return to the Gtech Community Stadium ahead of the summer.

He was given the green light to move to the Memorial Ground during the January transfer window after spending the first-half of the season with Crawley Town in League Two. The former England youth international ended up playing eight times for Joey Barton’s side.

Brentford need to decide what to do with Balcombe ahead of next term with their goalkeeping department expected to change. David Raya is being linked with an exit, with Freiburg’s Mark Flekken the name being mentioned as his potential replacement.

They then have youngster Matthew Cox and Thomas Strakosha as their other two options between the sticks right now. The latter joined last year after his deal at Lazio expired.

Balcombe provides useful competition and back-up but his chances of breaking into Thomas Frank’s first-team are slim. At the age of 23, he may fancy his chances of becoming a number one elsewhere, despite still having two years left on his contract.

He has been on the books at Brentford since 2018 having previously been at Stevenage and he is yet to play for the senior team. Instead, he has been loaned out to the likes of Boreham Wood, Viborg, Doncaster Rovers, Burton Albion and Bromley as well as Crawley and Bristol Rovers.