Bell set to miss out on instant reunion with Fleetwood

The 23-year-old left Highbury and joined Rovers for a fee believed to be in the region of £300,000 on Friday afternoon.

A quirk in the fixture list sees Tony Mowbray’s Blackburn side visit Town this afternoon.

However, the Bell deal did not go through in time for the defender (pictured) to feature for his new club – by making his debut against his former employers.

Bell made 115 league appearances for Town after arriving on a free transfer from Birmingham City in the summer of 2015.

But, with his contract due to end in the summer, Town have opted to cash in this transfer window.

Town head coach Uwe Rosler, who has coached Bell for a year-and-a-half since he arrived at Highbury in 2016, hopes that Bell can make it back to the Championship with Rovers.

Rosler said: “Since I have been here he has played every minute, every game.

“He never missed a training session and he has got better and better and better.

“Of course I will miss him, our football club will miss him and the boy did not do anything wrong.

“He opted not to sign a new contract with us and I personally will miss him.

“I am very grateful for the time I had with him.

“I learned a lot from Amari’i and I think he learned a lot from us coaches.

“We wish him all the very best. He is a good lad and I hope all of his dreams come true.”