DANNY Ford admitted he did not see Ben Basso returning to Poole “at probably any stage of his career”.

The Pirates promoter was speaking after swapping the Danish youngster’s full asset status with that of Richard Lawson at Wimborne Road.

Poole will now become the parent club of experienced Brit Lawson, who completed Pirates’ septet this week.

Speaking about swapping the asset status of the two riders, Ford told the Daily Echo: “Richard’s parent club had been Glasgow for a number of years. We approached Glasgow when we knew Basso was going there, about the opportunity to swap.

“That may turn a few heads. People may be confused about that decision, as we are swapping a 21-year-old for a 35-year-old.

“But we firmly believe Richard has got many years, and some of his best years ahead of him in the sport.

“It became clear that Basso wasn’t going to be returning to Poole at probably any stage of his career.

“We thought ‘okay, what a great opportunity this is for us to get a rider like Richard on our books’.

“We got the deal done with Glasgow, both parties saw the benefit in it and I am delighted to welcome Richard as a full Poole asset.”

Basso controversially joined the Tigers over the winter, despite Pirates admitting they wanted him in their line-up for 2022.

He originally became a full Poole asset during his breakthrough British debut campaign in 2021.