Blackpool stance on Rob Apter exit shared - as Steve Bruce discusses figure after Charlton Athletic move

Steve Bruce states Blackpool were reluctant to let Rob Apter leave Bloomfield Road - but ultimately respected the wishes of the player.

The winger completed a move to Championship side Charlton Athletic on a four-year deal last week, with an undisclosed fee being agreed between the two clubs.

Having joined the Seasiders as a teenager in 2019, the 22-year-old has worked his way through the ranks on the Fylde Coast, and has become a success story of the club’s youth set up.

In his 43 league game under Bruce last season, Apter scored eight goals and provided three assists, with his tally including a hat-trick away to Stevenage on Good Friday.

‘None of us wanted to sell Rob’

The Blackpool boss admits he can understand why the former Scotland youth international wanted to make a move to a higher division, but states the Seasiders were keen to keep hold of him despite the fee on offer.

“None of us wanted to sell Rob, but once it gets to a certain level of money, not just for the club, but for Rob himself personally, with the lure of the Championship - the kid knocked my door down every other day,” he said.

“It’s understandable. He became a little bit emotional in the end. We wish him the best of luck, he’s come through the academy here. He’s a bit of a dying breed.

“None of us wanted to sell him, especially the owner, but you have to accept that once a player is offered money of life changing ability then it has a big pull.

“It’s a short career, and when you’re quadrupling your money, you’re going to have your head turned. Also, the Championship is where he wanted to be.

“It’s up to us to now find a replacement, and I’m confident we’ll do that.”

Bruce discusses Apter fee

Apter is the second big fee Blackpool have received in 2025, following Kyle Joseph’s move to Hull City in January.

“It was up around where we expected it, two, two-and-a-half million,” Bruce added.

“I don’t know the exact figure, but it was up towards that, and with bits and pieces it could be closer to three.

“A bit like Kyle (Joseph), we didn’t want to sell him, but then we went to work with Ennis, and that’s the way forward.

“None of us wanted Rob to go, but the player himself is the one who demanded he went.”

Reinvesting the money

Apter’s departure leaves the Seasiders short in the wide areas, with an injury to CJ Hamilton in Saturday’s friendly against West Brom leaving Tom Bloxham as the only natural available option in that area.

“It’s up to us to go to work in the next two weeks,” he stated.

“It’s difficult because the Championship are a week behind us and the Premier League have only just got to work. With these stuttered starts - that’s why we’ve not seen much.

“It’s a case of trying to put stuff together at the top end of the pitch and in wide areas. We’ve got a lot of work to do, but that’s the job, and that’s why I’m here.”

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