GATLIN O’Donkor will return to Oxford United in pre-season off the back of his first season away on loan.
The 20-year-old striker featured twice for United at the start of the 2024/25 campaign, prior to joining Bristol Rovers on summer deadline day.
He scored four goals in 28 Sky Bet League One appearances, although only half of those were starts, as the Pirates were relegated to League Two.
We caught up with Bristol Live’s Rovers reporter Dan Hargraves to get the lowdown on how O’Donkor fared at the Memorial Stadium.
How would you rate Gatlin O’Donkor’s time at the club overall?
Gatlin came in on deadline day and was signing number 15 of 16. Fans were hoping for another forward and, with no disrespect to him, a teenager on loan was not the profile supporters were hoping for.
He scored off the bench in his fourth league appearance, but found it difficult to get a run of starts ahead of the likes of record signing Promise Omochere and Ruel Sotiriou.
His best run of games came under Inigo Calderon in the second half of the season as Bristol Rovers suffered severe injury problems up front, opening a pathway for O’Donkor.
He scored against Barnsley and was starting to show improvement, but was then himself sidelined for the best part of a month with a hamstring problem.
There were some more bright displays following his return from injury, with his best moment scoring an equaliser against Birmingham City in front of the Sky Sports cameras.
He was popular with fans for his physical approach and hard work, but it was unfair that, being so young, he was relied upon to score the goals to keep Rovers up, which was never going to happen. Out of 10, I’d probably give his season a six.
What were his main strengths and weaknesses?
His hold-up play was outstanding at times. Admittedly though, he was often guilty of losing the ball which will be an area to work on.
Although he’s only 20, he looks older and certainly has the frame to be a strong, physical outlet at the top end of the pitch.
However, he tended to play best when he had a partner alongside him. I think he will also feel as though, with some of the chances that presented themselves to him, that he should have scored more than four goals during his time with Rovers.
There was also some concern at times regarding how long he could actually play in a game, with his fitness levels clearly dropping round the hour mark.
Consistency, as is completely expected of a young player, was the major factor that evaded O’Donkor during his loan spell.
What do you think the next step should be for the striker?
Again, with no disrespect intended to Gatlin, I would be very surprised to see him become a regular for Oxford United in the Championship next season.
Another loan could be what he needs at this stage as he still won’t be 21 until October. He has shown he is competent at League One level. I am very interested to see what is next for him because he is undoubtedly seen as a talent, but remains incredibly raw.
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