Pirates CEO reveals Luton striker Hylton rejected a move to Bristol Rovers during in transfer window

Bristol Rovers chief executive Martyn Starnes has revealed that Luton striker Danny Hylton turned down a loan move to the League One side back in the January transfer window.

With the Pirates battling against relegation and desperate to bolster their striking options, they tried to get former Hatter Jayden Stockley on loan from Preston North End only to lose out to Charlton Athletic.

The Gas then turned their attentions to Hylton who hadn't been a regular starter at Kenilworth Road, but despite getting the green light from Town to go ahead with the deal, couldn't persuade the former Oxford forward to move away from Luton.

Rovers, now managed by Joey Barton, have since lost their battle to stay in the third tier, as speaking to the club's official website, Starnes said: "We tried to address the goalscoring issue, that became quite evident early on.

"We knew we needed to do something in the January window, and by that time Paul Tisdale was here.

"We tried very, very hard to bring another striker in.

"We'd obviously looked at other strikers, and there aren't many available in January, there never are.

"I picked up the phone to my friend Nathan Jones, manager at Luton, and asked about Danny Hylton.

"Luton were prepared to let him come but Danny was still in the squad and wanted to fight for his place, which is a perfectly reasonable thing to do and we respect that decision.

"It's never easy in January to strengthen your squad with the right players and we really have to get it right at the beginning of the season."