Rovers’ deadline day deals continued on into the night as Jack Vale became the second and last departure of the day, after the Welsh under-21 international secured a late loan move to League One side, Rochdale.
The move, which had been brewing quietly in the background, came to the fore at around 9:30pm, with the window until the deadline quickly narrowing, however both clubs were able to act quickly enough in order to get the deal, which will see Vale – who is Dale’s third deadline day incoming – spend the rest of the campaign at the Crown Oil Arena, over the line.
Vale, who notched a goal and an assist in tonight’s 3-1 Premier League 2 victory over Leicester City’s development squad, departs temporarily from Ewood Park with high plaudits from staff, players and fans of Rovers alike. The 19-year old winger, who despite making a loan switch to Barrow last season, was unable to get a game due to the cancellation of the National League, heads to Greater Manchester in the hope of building upon his experience and mouth-watering return per game by showcasing his natural ability – as Tony Mowbray would call it – ‘in the men’s game.’
Whilst Vale, who has been at the club since the age of 14, has been touted to go onto big things by his manager, injuries hampered his potential to depart on loan in the summer window, as he caught the eye of a few lower league clubs during his brief first-team cameo during his professional debut, which came off the bench in Rovers’ 4-3 home win over Reading towards the backend of last campaign. Vale, who signed a new four-year deal with Rovers in 2019, will now be hoping to garner some consistency to his game by continuing the development Rovers started, on loan at Rochdale.
The highly regarded forward, whose career stats at youth level read 63 games, 20 goals and 12 assists, has also been a key part of his national side, Wales’ youth teams, since he broke through at international level. Although he has yet to feature for the under-21s for more than a brief five minute cameo, his presence was felt more for the under-19s and under-17s, both of which he played European Championship qualifiers for, however Wales were unable to make the final tournament on both occasions.
Rochdale, who currently sit 18th in League One, were clearly impressed with the youngster’s performance in tonight’s Premier League 2 victory, so let’s hope both parties benefit from this late switch.
