Grant McCann is relaxed about whether Doncaster Rovers will lose star players Luke Molyneux and Owen Bailey this summer.
Interest has intensified over Bailey this season after his efforts earned him a League One Player of the Year nomination, which could spur other sides in League One or even the Championship to start a bidding war over the 27-year-old.
McCann Holds Firm On Valuation
However, Rovers look in a strong place to fend off any interest in both the midfielder and fellow talisman Luke Molyneux, with Grant McCann being bullish on the club’s valuation of their prized assets.
Speaking to the Yorkshire Post, he said:
“Bails has still got two years left after this. He’s got a year and a year’s club option. So we’re under no sort of stress on that side of it. It would take a serious amount of money to prise him and (Luke) Molyneux away from this football club.
“When you’re in the bracket of top four players in the division, supported by your peers or whatever it might be, then the price tag absolutely will rise. But it would take a lot to get him away from the football club.
“If the club deemed that was fit enough to be acceptable for them, then fair play to the lad because he’s worked so hard over the three years he’s been here to put him in this position.”
Doncaster have previously been open about their selling policy, with club chiefs confirming back in July that they had rejected a £500,000 bid from a League One rival club for defender Jay McGrath.
Speaking at the end of the previous Summer window, McCann stated that the owners would only sanction a departure for the former Gateshead man if another team forked out a figure in the £2-£3 million range in the final hours of Deadline Day.
Bailey Key To Rovers Growth
By all accounts, it has been a successful season for Doncaster Rovers if they can keep themselves out of the relegation places and secure another season in League One.
While one of their fellow promoted teams from last season in Bradford City have surpassed all expectations to challenge for a place in the Championship, any of the four sides that came up would have snatched their hands at just staying in the third tier, and at least two of them in Rovers and AFC Wimbledon look set to do just that.
Now, for both, it is about securing this current foundation and looking to progress upwards, and in Grant McCann’s case, they need Owen Bailey to stick around to push them towards that aim.
He may not earn the plaudits due to the successes of Lincoln City‘s Jack Moylan and Sonny Bradley, but it cannot be understated how pivotal the 27-year-old has been to Doncaster’s fortunes as a creative force and a makeshift centre-back during a mid-season injury crisis.
Relegation cannot be ruled out at this point, with Exeter City four points behind the South Yorkshire club, meaning Bailey’s future is far from certain. But if they can keep their heads above the water, then there is no chance that the midfielder is anywhere else but the Eco-Power Stadium come August.
