Taylor Richards and Madger Gomes offer snapshot into Doncaster Rovers’ future

On a day when the absence of Rovers captain Ben Whiteman proved a pre-match talking point ahead of the club’s Carabao Cup tie at Blackburn Rovers, focus gravitated towards the pairing who patrolled the middle of the park in his absence, in the shape of Richards and Madger Gomes when the game began.

The first half at Ewood Park was an education for the pair, albeit a good one as they found it hard against an experienced Blackburn midfield triumvirate.

On the restart, the midfield duo fared better and while Gomes afforded himself the fillip of his first Rovers goal, two sublime long-range passes from debutant Richards – including one in the build-up to Gomes’s goal – were just as striking.

It pointed to an eye for a pass which convinced Manchester City to bring him to the club as a youngster and the talent that prompted parent club Brighton to shelve out a seven-figure fee to sign him in the summer of 2019.

The hope of Rovers supporters – and Darren Moore – will be that Richards, 19, and Gomes can learn from Whiteman in the months ahead, and grow.

As it stands, the future of Whiteman, who sat out Rovers’ 3-2 cup loss at Ewood Park as an apparent precaution due to an injury niggle, remains up in the air with the 24-year-old being the subject of strong interest from Barnsley among others.

The Reds have seen bids for Whiteman rejected by Rovers and the offers are understood to be substantially below the League One club’s valuation.

Other clubs including Blackburn have been linked with Whiteman, with speculation regarding his future likely to continue.

But as far as Richards’ debut went, there was optimism.

Rovers chief Moore, who said ahead of the game that the ‘sky is the limit’ for Richards and fellow loan recruit Joe Bursik – who also made his bow – said: “He is a gifted player and what we have done is bring him here to play games and get a consistency with him. We will work with him in training and his performances will get stronger.

“I thought him and Madger worked really well and it showed their athleticism and speed, but also technical ability on the ball.

“It was very good and they have got clever passes in them that can unlock the door. They have the ability to run and drive with the ball.”

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James Mitchinson