Rovers are currently sitting 5th in the table, and are still unbeaten in the league – something that seemed impossible four months ago as they avoided relegation on the final day of the 2023/24 campaign.
However, since that day, they have sold two key components of their squad from last season, with both Sammie Szomdics and Sam Gallagher moving on to pastures new.
The former, made the switch to newly promoted Premier League side Ipswich Town for an initial fee of £9 million. His ex-teammate has joined Stoke City, with the Potters paying a reported £1.5 million for the attacker.
Yet, it’s a deal that may not have had the impact on Blackburn that many may have thought it would have at first, after Eustace’s side utilised the transfer market excellently.
Blackburn gained a fantastic fee for Gallagher
At 28-years-old, Gallagher is meant to be in the prime of his career. However, injuries have halted his momentum over the last few years.
He has struggled to score regularly, finding the back of the net just 19 times in the last three
His impact was mostly felt through his link-up play, but without Szmodics, he might have struggled to play in Eustace’s system and a move away was possibly the best situation for both parties.
FLW’s Blackburn Fan Pundit, Toby Wilding, is particularly happy with the sale: “I think to get £1.5 million for a striker in the final year of his contract, who has problems with injuries and who is not a regular goal-scorer is a pretty good deal to get.
“He had high wages as well, so it’s useful to get them off the books. Gueye and Ohashi have both come in to add to the forward line reportedly for a combined fee that is less than what we got for Gallagher and both already looking like excellent acquisitions.
“I think to produce that turnover in the centre-forward area, as we were probably allowed to do by the fee that we got in for Gallagher, is a really smart bit of business that already looks as though it’s gone really well for Rovers.”
The additions of Makhtar Gueye and Yuki Ohashi have proven to be brilliant so far, with Gueye providing three assists in his first four Championship appearances.
Blackburn’s new Japanese striker has been among the goals already, scoring twice, and is having a huge impact on the team.
Leave a Reply