The first of two expected departures this week was confirmed on Monday lunchtime by the club with the news that Jake Beesley has joined Championship side Blackpool.

After Robbie Stockdale's interview following Saturday's postponement at Colchester United it became clear that two players looked set to leave the club after having bids for their services accepted and it's now been confirmed that Beesley is one of those two players.

Dale's top scorer this season has joined Championship outfit Blackpool on a three and a half year deal for an undisclosed fee.

While it's not known exactly how much that fee is, the fact that the Sheffield-born forward still had 18 months left to run on his contract bodes well and left Dale in a strong position when it came to accepting an offer.

Beesley joined Dale from non-league Solihull Moors in the summer of 2020 and leaves having scored 19 goals in 56 appearances at Spotland.

His best spell of form came just before the January transfer window, with back-to-back braces in his last two matches against Bristol Rovers and Newport County helping him to secure the League Two player of the month award.

With Josh Andrews the only recognised centre-forward at the club now, Dale will surely look to re-invest some of the money made on this transfer in the attacking areas of the squad, while Stockdale confirmed last week that talks were still taking place with Mansfield over a potential permanent transfer for ex-loanee Corey O'Keeffe.

Aaron Morley is expected to join Jake Beesley out of the exit door in the coming days with Bolton Wanderers looking set to secure his signature.

Photo: Action Images

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