Eastbourne have opened the door for Lewis Bridger to return to Arlington.

The Elite League outfit will agree to the 20-year-old Team GB star making his move to Peterborough a loan deal with a view to returning home at some stage after that.

Bexhill-based Bridger is already scheduled for a quick return to the Sussex track when Panthers visit Eastbourne for a season-opening challenge fixture on Saturday, March 20.

Having initially looked to release Bridger on a full transfer, Eagles co-promoter Bob Dugard is now happy to see him move on loan.

Eagles hoped Bridger would move to Peterborough in return for Lukas Dryml and Hans Andersen.

That plan was scuppered when Andersen opted to join Belle Vue.

Bridger has revealed he would love to return to 275-metre Eastbourne after two years riding larger circuits on a regular basis.

Meanwhile, the popular Dryml is on board for a second season in Sussex having arrived on loan from Peterborough last year.

Dugard said: “It’s something we need to talk with Peterborough and Lewis about.

“The latest I hear is Lewis saying he wants to come back in a couple of years but that’s a lifetime in speedway.

“We want to buy Lukas. I’ve no clue what he would cost but we are in the driving seat because we let Lewis go there when they were desperate to build a team around him.

“I’ve told them we want to buy Lukas and they were going to put a fee to us but I haven’t pushed the issue.

“It’s all quite amicable between us and Peterborough.”

Dugard is taking a back seat with Eagles this year as Trevor Geer and Mike Bellerby play more prominent managerial roles.

However he is keen to see through transfer deals he started when he was the main man.

That includes the arrival of Russian star Denis Gizatullin, who Eagles are confident will receive a work permit and fill a reserve berth.

Fixtures for the new season have yet to be finalised but Eagles will open their home campaign with six Saturday meetings and a Good Friday derby with Lakeside.

They will visit the Hammers in the afternoon and race them at Arlington at 7.30pm.

The Peterborough clash will be followed by the home league opener on March 27.

They also expect to stage Saturday fixtures on April 10 and 17 with a break on April 24 to avoid clashing with the Leszno Grand Prix.

At least 11 meetings will be run on Thursdays, with tapes up at 7.45pm, and Eagles report encouraging season ticket sales, despite the contentious change of race night.

There has also been a flurry of interest in the new 100 Club recently.

Dugard said: “I think people realise what Trevor and Mike are doing.”