Blackpool is best place for Bright to shine says Bowyer

Rumours of Premier League interest in Blackpool youngster Bright Osayi-Samuel continue to swirl '“ but boss Gary Bowyer says the club has had no offers for the winger and believes he is best off staying at Bloomfield Road.
Bright Osayi-SamuelBright Osayi-Samuel
Bright Osayi-Samuel

The 20-year-old youth product has racked up 62 League appearances and is reportedly catching the eye of a top -ier clubs.

Bowyer is keen for the transfer window to close and says he has learned to live with transfer rumours regarding the winger, describing them as: “Non-stop ever since I have been here really!

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Asked if any concrete offers had been received, the Pool boss said: “Not as far as I am concerned at this moment in time. He is continuing to grow and develop as a person and as a player.

“He still has areas of the game he needs to improve on because we could have been talking about him having scored two goals last weekend.

“I read this morning that there were Premier League clubs interested but I’ve not heard anything other than that. Until bids are put into the club or accepted we will crack on with him.”

One player who did depart this summer was Brad Potts, who moved to Barnsley for a sizeable sum.

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If Osayi-Samuel does leave, Bowyer hopes he follows a similar path to Potts and joins a club where he will be given regular game-time to develop, not one where he would play Under-23 football.”

However, Bowyer still believes the best place for Osayi-Samuel is at Bloomfield Road.

He said: “It would be great obviously for every player to get into the Premier League but I think the most important thing is that you are playing.

“There was a sensible move from Brad Potts. He has gone from here with our blessing because he has gone to a club that is going to continue to develop him and I think that is important for Bright too.

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“But if a club does come in and everything gets accepted, what Bright does not want to do is go and play in somebody’s U23 side.

“He needs to be playing first-team football in the actual cut-throat arena.

“Bright has got 60-odd games under his belt. Someone in the Under-23s has not even been in the first-team squad, so I think it is important that you are playing on a Saturday at 3pm, when it really matters.”

As Pool prepare to travel to a Doncaster Rovers club promoted alongside them last season, Bowyer has received an injury boost.

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He revealed: “Good news this week is that Kelvin Mellor is back on the grass.

“Kelvin (right) trained with the group on Tuesday and looked good, so he is back full training and that has been an added boost for us.”

That mean’s Bowyer’s only outstanding injury concern is Jim McAlister, though there is good news regarding his recovery from a fractured tibia.

The manager added: “On a positive, Jim went to see a specialist on Wednesday and was given really encouraging news, so he can step up his training.

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“We are not going to rush him because it has taken time and he has had to be really patient, but we are delighted that he has been given the chance to progress. He had got frustrated with it and understandably so.

“Jim is a fierce competitor, and when you take that away from someone it is difficult to deal with at times. We are delighted for him about Wednesday’s news.”