Aaron Collins' outstanding season has been marked by the Bristol Rovers No10 being named the League One Player of the Season at the EFL Awards in London.
Collins has scored 16 goals and provided 11 assists in 42 appearances for Rovers, as the only player outside of the Premier League to have recorded a double-double in those statistics, and beat out competition from Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Barry Bannan and former Gas striker Jonson Clarke-Harris, now of Peterborough United, to the coveted trophy.
The achievement is all the more impressive given it's Collins first ever season in the third tier having spent all his career in the National League and League Two before Joey Barton brought him to the Mem in 2021 from Forest Green Rovers.
He's flourished under Barton's guidance and although his 2022/23 season can be divided into two clear halves, with Collins scoring 11 over his first 23 games of the season and six in the 19 since the midway point, he's still made a seamless step up.
The Welshman was at the Grosvenor House Hotel on Sunday night to receive the award from former Nottingham Forest and Leeds United midfielder David Prutton and said: "I wasn’t really expecting this. First season in League One and to be in double figures in goals and assists. I’ve just played my game and it’s been an enjoyable season so far."
Collins was also named in the League One Team of the Season, as the only representative from a club outside the top seven, selected in the front three alongside Clarke-Harris and Ipswich Town's Conor Chaplin.
The 25-year-old is now targeting a strong end to the season where he hopes to reach the 20-goal mark with matches to come against Plymouth Argyle on Tuesday, Peterborough United, Shrewsbury Town and Bolton Wanderers on the final day of the campaign.
Collins' success and growing reputation will inevitably lead to more conversation around his long-term future at the Gas. Collins is under contract until 2025 after signing a new deal last summer following his feats in the promotion season.
However, Rovers will surely face a fight to keep him over this summer given not just his goalscoring prowess but his creativity and versatility in being able to play as a central or withdrawn striker as well as operating in wide positions.
Barton has been open in admitting a number of Championship clubs have been actively scouting him and said in February that he anticipates offers for him at the end of the season.
While Rovers would be reluctant to lose their top scorer and, to an extent, talisman, they will hold out for suitable compensation in terms of a transfer fee to enable the manager to build again.
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