Steve Evans Backs Kofi Balmer Return to Bristol Rovers
Steve Evans is confident Kofi Balmer will be back at Bristol Rovers next season after the centre-back returned to Motherwell when his loan spell ended. The 25-year-old played every minute of all but one league game for the club, and Evans also said Bristol Rovers have been working through other squad decisions at the end of the season.
Kofi Balmer and Steve Evans
Evans said the talks around Balmer have already gone well beyond a simple thank-you. “I know that chief executive and our chairman have been in long dialogue with the people who have looked after Kofi,” he said to Radio Bristol's Having a Gas. “Motherwell have been fantastic to deal with as well - I'm confident in time Kofi will be with us for sure.”
Balmer arrived in January and settled into the side quickly. Evans said, “When he's got into his run of games and his second wind and training every day and with the tempo to play the games, he's been nothing short of exceptional for us.” He added, “We signed the lad who had been an international, who had come away from the international scene, Kofi has played in the last six or eight weeks like a full international player for Bristol Rovers.”
Motherwell and Bristol Rovers
The move back to Motherwell came after Balmer joined Bristol Rovers on loan in January, having moved to Motherwell in 2024 after previous loan spells at Port Vale and AFC Wimbledon from Crystal Palace. Bristol Rovers got close to a full season's worth of league minutes from him in a short stretch, with only one league game missing from his run of appearances.
That level of availability leaves Evans wanting more of the same next season. His confidence points to Balmer as more than a short-term loan success; it also suggests Bristol Rovers see him as part of the defensive core they want to carry forward, especially after he spent so much of this season on the pitch.
Richie Smallwood and Joel Senior
Balmer was not the only player Bristol Rovers were dealing with as the season closed. Evans said, “We have put something to Richie - an offer - and he's considering that this weekend with his family.” Smallwood, 35, spent the second half of the season on loan from Tranmere and played 15 games after joining on deadline day.
Elsewhere, Ellis Harrison signed a one-year contract extension, while Bristol Rovers took up an option in Joel Senior's contract to keep him through 2026-27. Senior has also been offered an improved deal going beyond next season, giving the club several different retention calls to manage at the same time as the Balmer situation.
For Bristol Rovers, the immediate picture is simple enough: Balmer is back at Motherwell for now, but Evans expects that to be temporary. If that holds, the club would start next season with a defender who logged almost every league minute available to him this term already in place.
