In the final days of the transfer window, Blackburn Rovers signed contracts for no fewer than four players, capping off a successful January transfer window.
Soon after the winter transfer market closed, agreements to recruit attackers Cauley Woodrow and Emmanuel Dennis were confirmed. Augustus Kargbo, a midfielder, and Yuri Ribeiro, a former Nottingham Forest defender, arrived from Cesena and Benfica, respectively.
The latter two are particularly important additions for Blackburn, as they have needed more depth in their attacking ranks for the vast majority of the campaign.
Currently sat fifth in the Championship, John Eustace’s men are now surely well set to defend their play-off position and earn themselves a potential shot at a Premier League return come May.
Blackburn were linked with Jeffrey Schlupp and ended up with Emmanuel Dennis
Jeffrey Schlupp, a utility player for Crystal Palace, was linked to Rovers during the January transfer window.
Schlupp, who is currently 32, has eleven seasons of Premier League experience, split between Crystal Palace and Leicester City. He was first linked with a move to Blackburn by The Sun in the opening few days of the window.
Alan Nixon stated halfway through the month that Championship rivals Coventry City will likely outbid Blackburn for the loan agreement as Rovers’ interest in the Ghanaian continued to grow.
Schlupp would have been an excellent acquisition to Blackburn, who will be harbouring top tier aspirations of their own considering the way the first half of their season has gone. Schlupp made 29 Premier League games for the Eagles last season.
On deadline day, the midfield player finally moved north of the border and signed a loan with Celtic.
Blackburn was able to sign Emmanuel Dennis on loan from Nottingham Forest until the end of the season as their pursuit for Schlupp came to an end.
It might be a key acquisition for Rovers in their attempt to guarantee a spot in the second division play-offs, considering their goal-scoring performance this season.
Blackburn will be happy with the Schlupp and Dennis trade-off
Despite their disappointment at losing out on a player of Schlupp’s calibre, Blackburn can at least feel comforted knowing that they have addressed another important part of their team.
Eustace’s team has struggled to score goals this season; with 35 league goals, they have the fewest of any team in the top half of the Championship. Although they have compensated for their shortcomings in front of goal with their iron backline, there has always been the persistent suspicion that they have required more up front to maintain a real play-off push.
Rovers must thus be happy with the way their deadline day went. While losing Schlupp was undoubtedly a setback, it’s more likely that the funds they would have used to pay his salary at Crystal Palace were used to pay Dennis’s.
Alan Nixon claims that Blackburn is using Dennis’ hefty Premier League salary of about £20,000 per week, which may be a far better use of Blackburn’s funds.
Having missed both of the previous two seasons’ 25-man Premier League squads, the Nigerian forward has been shut out at Forest in recent years.
But Blackburn will undoubtedly support themselves to unlock his potent goal-scoring history once more. The 27-year-old had an outstanding individual season in 2021–2022, scoring double figures in the top flight and dishing out six assists.
He went out on loan to the Hornets last year and scored four times in 16 Championship games.
Given how little football the Nigerian has played in recent seasons, there is undoubtedly some risk involved in the deal, but he has shown himself to be a more than capable finisher in the past if Blackburn can create opportunities for him.
Missing Schlupp will seem less significant as the days pass if Dennis can supply the goals that propel Blackburn into the playoffs and possibly all the way to promotion.
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