Rovers are expected to add to their Under-21s ranks with new signings this summer.

Two new additions to Mike Sheron’s side are in the pipeline as Rovers prepare for their sixth successive season in Premier League 2.

The club added players from Aston Villa and Liverpool when announcing their new intake of scholars last month who will become part of the Under-18s squad next season.

It is at those earlier age groups where Rovers have tended to add to their ranks, with Joe Rankin-Costello and Lewis Travis arriving from Manchester United and Liverpool respectively in their mid-teens.

Unlike many other clubs in Premier League 2, Rovers have largely opted against making signings specifically for the Under-21s, but with increased numbers required because of the games programme and Jon Dahl Tomasson’s preference for internal games, new faces are expected.

A midfielder and attacking option are understood to have been lined up, which will follow on from the signing of Ethan Walker last summer following his release by Preston North End.

Many of Rovers’ recent Academy graduates have come through the ranks for a number of years before getting their opportunity at first-team level, with Adam Wharton having been with the club since the age of seven.

But head of Academy Stuart Jones says the club will always continue to look externally, even if their Under-21s set-up differs from the sides they come up against, with a greater emphasis on integration with the first-team.

“It’s shown the number of players that have transitioned into the Under-21s from a young age and the quality of those players has been really high over the years,” Jones explained.

“Hopefully we’ll bring a couple in for the Under-21s externally over the next few weeks.

“I do think the programme here and players coming through, there’s quality in the building.

“We will always look.

“You go back to Rankin-Costello and Butterworth coming from (Manchester) United, we will always look at those type of players coming into scholar age group, but we’ll be limited on bringing in Under-21s as such.

“Sometimes opportunities come along, we have taken a couple of players out of Aston Villa who are coming in, a player coming out of Liverpool.

“They are attacking players and that was an area that we felt we might be short.

“Sometimes that happens where you get opportunities to sign a couple of players and it was important we got those done.”