Niall Ennis enjoyed an impressive first full month with Blackpool following his loan move from Stoke City.

The Seasiders striker found the back of the net four times throughout February, which included a brace in a 3-1 victory over Crawley Town just under a fortnight ago.

Ennis’ performances have been recognised in the form of two award nominations.

The first is for League One Player of the Month, where he is up against Amadou Mbengue (Reading), Ollie Rathbone (Wrexham) and Jay Stansfield (Birmingham City) - with the results set to be announced on Friday.

Meanwhile, the 25-year-old is also up for the PFA’s League One fans’ player of the month.

Ennis’ career before Bloomfield Road move

The forward started his professional career with Wolves, where he made one senior outing, as well as heading out on loan to Shrewsbury, Doncaster Rovers and Burton Albion - where he picked up his first taste of life in League One.

After only appearing once for the Salop, his stint at the Eco-Power Stadium provided him with a real opportunity in the third tier.

In 29 outings for Rovers, he scored six goals and provided four assists in total. His time with Burton wasn’t as positive, and he departed Wolves permanently in 2021, joining Plymouth Argyle - which produced his most fruitful spell in front of goal.

In his first two seasons at Home Park, he scored 10 times and chipped in with five assists in 49 games.

It was Ennis’ third campaign that saw him enjoy his best year to date, with 12 goals and six assists under his belt in 38 League One outings.

placeholder image — Ennis during his time with Plymouth

Ennis earned himself a move to Blackburn Rovers in 2023, leaving Plymouth with 24 goals and 12 assists in 97 appearances in total across all competitions.

During his singular campaign at Ewood Park, he only managed 13 games, and made the move to Stoke last year, where his struggles continued.

His only goal since making the switch to the bet365 Stadium came in an FA Cup tie back in January, with the former England youth international scoring the winner in extra time in a 2-1 victory away to Sunderland.

Ennis’ reasons behind Blackpool move

As well as being linked with the Seasiders during the winter transfer window, Leyton Orient were also reportedly interested in the former Wolves youngster.

In an interview last month, the forward stated one factor in particular made him keen to make the move to the Fylde Coast.

“I heard of interest before the window opened, but you don’t know officially until it comes,” he said.

“Out of respect to Stoke, I was still focussing on there, because until you’ve signed you’re still a player at that club. When I was called upon to play, I was still 100 percent focussed on them, but I knew there was interest.

“The gaffer was one of the main reasons. He’s got a lot of wisdom as a player and a manager at high levels. It’s just about listening to him, the coaching staff and the senior players at the club, and taking that knowledge and applying it to my game.

“I saw a lot of footage (of the team), and I saw that they created chances. It’s a striker’s dream to be in teams that create, so it’s up to me to get on the end of them, so it’s only the start.”

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