League One boss planning Mark Robins talks over Stoke City summer transfer
Steve Bruce is ready to call his old Manchester United teammate Mark Robins to suss out summer transfer thinking
Blackpool manager Steve Bruce is going to get on the phone to his old pal Mark Robins and work out Stoke City’s plans for Niall Ennis.
Ennis, aged 25, had barely played in the previous 18 months at Stoke and Blackburn Rovers when he was let out to join Blackpool on loan in January. He had actually just been brought back in from the cold by new Stoke boss Robins, who handed him starts at Sunderland and Portsmouth, but opportunities for further game time looked limited.
The striker has quickly won around supporters at Bloomfield Road, scoring six times in 12 appearances, including in his last two to help secure wins over Northampton and Bolton, managed by Steven Schumacher, who had worked with Ennis at Plymouth Argyle and signed him for Stoke.
He is under contract at Stoke until 2026 and he is currently scheduled to report back to Clayton Wood for pre-season training but Bruce is happy to have put a smile back on his face – and claims that him and strike partner Ashley Fletcher are playing as well as anyone in League One.
However the first priority is trying to break into the top six. They are now within three points of Bolton, who have slipped to eighth after losing three on the spin, and five behind crisis club Reading in the final play-off spot. Four wins in the last five have inspired confidence it might be possible.
Bruce told the Blackpool Gazette: “We must remember that his parent club is Stoke, so our first conversations would be about what they’re thinking about the situation. I’ll have a conversation with Mark Robins in the next week or two. We haven’t focussed on doing anything really looking forward, because the season is about now.
“There’s going to be noise in the next few weeks, but our attention is about whether we can mount a challenge (for the play-offs) – which the club is a little bit famous for, we’re decent at it.
“The most important thing for Fletch and Niall is putting a smile back on their face and letting them go and play. At the moment, they’re a threat to any team in this division. They’re both confident, and are a handful – you wouldn’t want to play against them.
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