Thomas Kaminski earned the praise of Tony Mowbray for his display on his Rovers debut as he made his bow in English football during the 3-2 defeat at Bournemouth.

Three fine strikes found their way past the Belgian, but he made a stunning stop to deny Dominic Solanke in the second half and was assured throughout between the sticks.

Kaminski has been handed the No.1 shirt at Rovers and was signed as the first-choice option when joining from AA Gent for an undisclosed fee.

The search for a back-up option goes on, but in Kaminski, Mowbray feels he has found a suitable long-term option for Rovers who have been on the look-out for a permanent option since the departure of David Raya last summer.

“I thought Thomas did okay. I think he’s going to be fine for us, he’s a man who knows what he’s all about, he’s steady and he’s organised,” Mowbray said of Kaminski.

“I’ve told him that we’re playing quickly and out from the back, but we’re not going to do it riskily and play silly little passes in and around our box in order to invite pressure.

“I thought he was fine, but I’m disappointed for him that we conceded three goals on his debut. I’m not stood here thinking, ‘oh he should have done better here or there’, I thought he was fine.

“There were a lot of good performances all over the pitch, we just have to keep our heads up and keep going.”

Rovers had been expected to source a free agent option to provide competition for Kaminski, which would allow Andrew Fisher to go out on loan, the 22-year-old having started the Carabao Cup win over Doncaster and been on the bench at Bournemouth.

However, Mowbray had previously hinted that there could be the option of signing a young goalkeeper to work alongside a more experience to give Rovers plenty of choice in the goalkeeping area moving forward.

Sources in the north east say Mowbray is keen on Aynsley Pears, the 22-year-old ‘keeper, son of Stephen, a former team-mate of the Rovers boss.

Rovers have been tight-lipped thus far on their potential interest in Pears, but it is understood he is available for transfer after turning down the option of a new deal at the Riverside.

Middlesbrough have since signed Marcus Bettinelli from Fulham, with Pears on the bench for their opening Championship fixture at Watford, and their Carabao Cup tie with Shrewsbury, despite the uncertainty over his future.

Reports in the national press suggest Rovers have bid £200,000 for Pears, with Boro holding out for more.

Pears made 24 Championship starts last season, but Boro boss Neil Warnock has made it clear that Bettinelli will be his No.1

He said: "Dejan and Aynsley have got to fight for their place because Marcus is an excellent player and the gloves are in his hands at the moment.

"It’s hard to see him being displaced.”

David Cornell was the most likely No.2 option for Rovers at the start of the window, having been tracked in January while at Northampton Town, but after becoming a free agent, he opted to join Ipswich Town.

Rob Elliot was another name mooted, but no contact has been made with the former Newcastle United man.

Rovers’ previous No.2, Jayson Leutwiler, landed himself a new club, staying in Lancashire after joining Fleetwood Town on a one-year deal having trained with Accrington Stanley earlier in the summer.

The Canadian’s former team-mate, David Raya, was sold to Brentford in June 2019 and played every game for the Bees in their run to the play-off final.

However, he was left out of the starting line-up for the opening day defeat to Birmingham, and despite Thomas Frank dismissing reports that the Spaniard could leave to join Arsenal, Raya is keen to join the Premier League side.

The 25-year-old is the subject of interest from the Gunners, confirmed by his agent, who told the Spanish press that Raya would hand in a transfer request to force the move should Brentford continue to stand in his way.

The deal that took Raya to Brentford was heavily incentivised, with the initial £3m deal including a sell-on clause, on any profit, which Rovers would bank should he move to Arsenal.

That deal appears to have moved a step closer, as Brentford line up replacements, and Arsenal set to lose Emiliano Martinez who is on the verge of a move to Aston Villa.