Doncaster Rovers midfielder moves to non-league club after loan arrangement is struck

The 28-year-old is joining National League side Eastleigh until the end of the campaign. Close has endured a dearth of football in recent months. He played 30 minutes in the FA Cup tie against Hull City, scoring an audacious penalty in the shoot-out victory. Other than that, he had a nine-minute cameo against Tranmere Rovers just before Christmas. In total he has played nine times in all competitions this term, having returned from a lengthy lay-off after suffering a knee injury that required surgery in early 2024.

Close could make his debut for the non-league side today, when they travel to Altrincham in the FA Trophy fifth round. It represents a second spell with the Spitfires for Close. He played for them back in 2017, joining on loan from then parent club Portsmouth.

Close signed a contract extension with Rovers last March, tying him down to the South Yorkshire club until the summer of 2026.

The focus of Rovers manager Grant McCann in the final few days of the window is to trim a bloated squad, having closed the door on any more incomings. There is a possibility the likes of Kyle Hurst or Louis Jones could head for pastures new before Monday's 11pm deadline.

Speaking before Close's move was rubber-stamped, McCann said: "We're open to maybe three or four players going out to play some games. It's important for their development to play. There's no fall-outs here. I'm always honest with the boys and I think they appreciate that. It's about people ahead of them in the pecking order and people are in good form. We can't play 22 players every game. There'll always be questions on players missing out. There's no issues inside our camp. There'll always be players left off the bench, every week. It's just the depth of the group. It's much better to be in this position than where we were last year, with loads of injuries."

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