Doncaster Rovers' exciting winger lands prestigious EFL award

The winger, on loan from Lincoln City, did enough to convince the judges and secure the gong for February. He beat off competition from Walsall's Emmanuel Adegboyega, Crewe's Mickey Demetriou and Newport's Will Evans.

In what was his first full month at Rovers, the 27-year-old notched up terrific numbers. He scored three goals - in wins over Tranmere and Wimbledon, and in the draw at Salford - and chipped in with no fewer than four assists.

His form coincided with an unbeaten month for Grant McCann's men, with a draw away at Sutton and a thumping 5-1 success over rivals Grimsby Town also included. In that latter game Adelakun chalked up a hat-trick of assists.

Speaking after winning the award, Adelakun said: “It’s exactly what you want to happen when you join a club - just to get going straight away. It’s been great for me and it’s about continuing that now. I'm delighted to have won this award. It's the first one I've had in my career and it's special that it's come at a time when we've been on a really good run of results.

“There’s a good buzz around the place. We all see things coming together, the patterns of play that we’ve been working on, they’re coming out and it’s great to see."

Sky Sports’ EFL pundit Don Goodman – part of the judging panel – said: “Talk about making an impact at your new club. Adelakun settled in and contributed from the minute he arrived, with goals and assists to drag Doncaster away from the relegation zone. Grant McCann – who worked with him before – clearly knows how to get the best out of Adelakun and the vital points they picked up in February might prove crucial come May.”

His form has led to many Rovers supporters calling for him to be snapped up permanently, once his Imps deal runs out this summer.

Speaking recently about that prospect, McCann said: "I think Haks knows how much we think of him. The conversation always, when he was coming in, was about how he would do now.

"We knew he's out of contract (at Lincoln) in the summer. Sometimes when you take a loan in January and they've only got six months left on their deals sometimes clubs don't let them go or they'll offer them a new deal before they loan them out.

"He had one or two other clubs after him. It was a bit of a gamble for Haks because he is out of contract in the summer but he knows he is respected by me and the coaching staff."

Rovers return to the Eco-Power Stadium on Saturday, when fourth-placed Crewe Alexandra come to town.