Joey Barton insists Aaron Collins has no intention of leaving Bristol Rovers in the January transfer window, with the star striker worth as much as £5million.
Collins enjoyed a golden year in 2022, scoring the goals that fired Barton's Gas to promotion to League One, and he has started brilliantly in the third tier. His man-of-the-match performance in the win against Cheltenham Town on New Year's Day kicked off 2023 in fine style.
A goal and assist in that 2-1 win put him top of the charts for League One in both categories, underlining the dual-threat player he has become for the Gas since overcoming a sluggish start after joining on a free transfer from Forest Green Rovers in 2021.
Those hard times last season are a distant memory now with Collins making an emphatic case for a move up the football pyramid. Concrete offers are yet to materialise and most Championship clubs are short of cash in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning a summer move may be more likely if the Welshman's form continues, but Barton was asked if he was concerned he could lose his star man this month.
"No, we want our players to do well," was his reply, before saying Collins should command a fee in the region of the £4m-plus package MK Dons received from Burnley for Scott Twine in the summer.
The Gas manager continued: "We want teams knocking at the door to try to buy our players because that is a sign of success and progress. The good thing is because of the way we are we’ve got contractual security. In the past, I don’t know what the case has been, you get a bid for a player and they’re unsettled.
"Aaron is really happy, I don’t think there is any ambition from him to move in January. Good players don’t tend to move in January, but that’s not to say someone in the Championship might come and offer us a fee that we can’t turn down.
"We’ve got a very wealthy owner so I can’t see Wael (Al-Qadi) wanting to get rid of him, wanting to sell him or cash in on him.
"If someone comes for him, Scott Twine went to Burnley last year from MK Dons. You’re talking those kinds of numbers, that is the reality. That will mean Azza will be getting a few million quid in his pocket over the course of his contract, so it’s a win-win for everybody.
"Don’t forget this time 12 months ago he just started finding where his feet are. You can move a long space in a short period in this game and he is a talisman for our team and at some point, he will either improve and he will get in the Championship with us because we get there, or somebody is going to buy him to play in the Championship because he is a player that has shown in every moment that he is certainly capable of playing at a higher level."
Collins has developed dramatically as a Rovers player, broadening his skillset to become a dynamic player capable of starring anywhere on the frontline, or as a number 10.
Barton believes his goal against Cheltenham at the weekend was evidence of his progress, scoring a goal that featured the subtleties that separate top goalscorers from average ones, shaping his body expertly to receive a Sam Finley through ball in stride and hold off a defender before applying an accurate finish.
Collins' manager says he reminds him of Manchester City and England star Jack Grealish, not just because of the low-rising socks, and Barton believes the 25-year-old also has the attributes needed to be a high-class striker, with no ceiling to cap his potential.
"It’s a helluva ball from Sam Finley and a great run from Az, but he’s got a lot to do when he gets there," Barton said. "Those are the bits he didn’t have when we first got him.
"He was a spectacular long-range goalscorer but he didn’t really get those box predator moments. I’ve been saying to him ‘They all count the same’. A 40-yard screamer is worth the same as a two-yard tap-in and if you want to be a 20-plus striker, you’ve got to get those scrappy tap-ins.
"But Az can go both ways, that’s why he’s a real threat. He runs like the wind with great size. He constantly gets battered but keeps getting up. He’s got elements of (Jack) Grealish about him, he’s got elements of really good strikers about him, and so I do think he is a unique player. I really do.
"He can score long-range goals off both feet. The heading bit of it, we need to work on with him because that is another tool you can score goals with.
"But to see his progress as a man and as a footballer in the past 12 months has been fantastic to watch and you’ve seen in the past two games he is just getting better and better.
"That’s what happens when you have good players around you and as I say, with Josh Coburn, Ryan Loft and John Marquis up there with him, they have helped bring out another level to Aaron’s game.
"He’s got to keep getting better. There is no ceiling. The only ceiling you have is in your mind."
Collins' enjoyed a fruitful festive period with three assists and two goals in the three games, taking his tallies in the league this season to 10 and 13 respectively, putting him alone at the top of the assists charts, while he shares the top scorer spot with former Gas striker Jonson Clarke-Harris.
Barton does not want to see Collins leave any time soon, but he makes a compelling sales pitch when talking about the player and the work he does behind the scenes at The Quarters.
"He has got a real humility about him and he is a fantastic team player", Barton added.
"He can get even better. There is so much he can do better in and out of possession, it’s untrue. He has enormous scope.
"He never misses a day’s training, he’s always got a smile on his face, and he does everything right and runs himself into the ground for the team. If he gets in behind and someone is in a better position, he will pass to them. He doesn’t take penalties.
"We are lucky to have the boy in our team and watching his progress in the past 12 months has been pleasing, but the six months before that were as well, watching him go through the dip, the hardest part when people give up and lose confidence.
"He didn’t. He turned up every day and trained, even when he was missing chances and there were groans and he kept getting in there and backing himself. And then he slams one in from 30 yards with his left foot against Oxford and he hasn’t looked back.
"Everyone’s questioning how he is going to handle League One because he hasn’t played there before, but he’s shown. Everyone’s asking now how he will handle the Championship because he hasn’t played there. Well, give him a go.
"We gave him a go and look what happened. I believe if you give people opportunities, the good ones take them and Aaron has certainly been a phenomenal addition to our team on a free transfer from Forest Green. That’s good business, hey."
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