AFTER Rovers announced their retained list on Saturday it was reported in some quarters that Chris Taylor and Luke Varney have been released.

That is not the case.

Neither has been officially offered a contract but Rovers have not shut the door on the duo either.

MORE TOP STORIES:

Gary Bowyer has already gone on record to state he wants Taylor to stay.

And there remains a possibility of Varney being given fresh terms too.

If that was not the case his name would have been included on the list of players who will definitely depart the club next month.

That it wasn’t will have come as a surprise to supporters.

Varney has failed to score in 26 appearances for the club and when he moved to Ipswich on loan in February that appeared to be the end of his Rovers career.

So why has the club not completely ruled out handing the striker a new deal?

I’d argue it is for professional and ethical reasons.

Rovers currently have three forwards on their books for next season.

That number will be rounded up to four if, as is hoped, Josh King puts pen to paper.

But an even bigger question mark hangs over the future of prolific top-scorers Rudy Gestede and Jordan Rhodes.

Should one or both be lured to the Premier League then Bowyer would look to replace them.

It remains to be seen, however, if he could reinvest the money made on the pair, given the club’s Financial Fair Play embargo.

Maybe, then, Rovers feel Varney would have more of a chance of playing and would be a good back-up option.

And maybe they feel they have a duty to offer the 32-year-old a new contract – albeit on reduced terms, in all likelihood – now that he will spend the next six months on the sidelines after sustaining a serious injury while playing for Ipswich.

That brought Varney’s loan spell at Portman Road to a premature end.

But, after recovering from an operation to repair his ruptured Achilles tendon, he made it clear where he wants his immediate future to lie.

Varney said: “I’ve had a lot of clubs in my career but being at Ipswich has been my highlight.

“I know that’s a big thing to say, considering I was only there for a couple of months, but I just felt like a real family member from day one. I’ve never been at a club that’s so united.

“Six months ago, when I was out of the picture at Blackburn, I’d lost a little bit of love for the game. That’s why I’m so grateful to Mick McCarthy and Ipswich Town.

“I just want to be part of Ipswich Town Football Club.”

Those comments will have been duly noted at Rovers.

And Varney may well find he has talked himself out of a new deal.