Doncaster Rovers: Keshi Anderson loan may have to wait

Boss Darren Ferguson is keen to re-sign the Crystal Palace striker on loan after he made a big impression during his previous spell last season.

But the Rovers boss is not confident he will land his man.

Anderson continues to recover from the ankle ligament damage caused by a dislocation which ended his Rovers spell last November.

Baldwin revealed Rovers are in regular contact with Palace to monitor the 21-year-old’s return to fitness but conceded he may not recover in time to start the season.

“Keshi is one that has been mentioned quite a lot,” Baldwin told the Free Press.

“We’re talking to Crystal Palace a lot because Keshi, at the minute, is not in full training.

“That is one to watch, seeing how his fitness goes.

“It could be one that has to wait until January, or he could be fit in August.

“We’re literally talking every other day to Palace.”

Speaking at the bi-annual Meet The Owners event on Tuesday night, Ferguson said it looks unlikely that Anderson will be returning to the Keepmoat in time for the new season.

Ferguson said: “We’re not close to anything with Keshi. The boy is still injured and is not anywhere near the level he needs to be at.

“We’ve had contact with Palace and their manager but percentage wise, I’d say it’s quite low for Keshi to be coming back.

“That’s a combination of things. I know there’s one or two League One clubs in for him.

“Unfortunately that’s one of the prices you have to pay when going down to League Two.

“I’m happy to work with the strikers we’ve got.

“I’ll probably look to add one as we go along and it would probably be something different to Keshi anyway.”

Changes to the loan market mean players can only be signed during the two transfer windows on season and half season bases.

This means should Anderson fail to recover by the end of August, Rovers would be unable to sign him until January and he would remain with Palace, likely featuring for their U21 side.

Baldwin says Rovers are in talks over two potential Premier League loan signings and one permanent deal.

But he does not expect any business to be imminent, particularly with loanees.

He said: “We’re in a situation now where Darren identified the eight players he wanted, plus Riccardo Calder on loan, and we went and got them.

“He was always clear that we would top that up with loan players from the Premier League if that was at all possible.

“It’s a bit of a waiting game now because we have agreements with various Premier League clubs that yes we can do a deal, but they have to name their squad of 25 first.

“We’re talking one permanent deal as well.

“There is quite a bit of competition for the permanent player and that player has got to make up his mind as much as we have.”