27 games; 14 wins, 13 defeats. One point off third, five points off 14th. Has any club ever epitomised the madcap madness of the Championship more than Jon Dahl Tomasson’s Blackburn Rovers?
As things stand, Rovers sitting pretty in the play-off places. A run of dodgy results, however, and they’ll be sliding down the table before you can say ‘false dawn’. The final week-and-a-half of the January transfer window, then, feels potentially make or break for a team who could end 2022/23 anywhere between third and, say, 15th.
The future of talisman and top scorer Ben Brereton Diaz, of course, is the topic on everybody’s lips. Arguably the most stylish and technical forward in the whole of the EFL; The Express say that La Liga outfit Villarreal are confident of signing the Stoke-born Chile international on a pre-contract agreement, his Ewood Park deal expiring in July.
The bad news, of course, is that Blackburn stand to lose a potential £20 million asset for free. But, on the other hand, retaining Brereton Diaz’s services until the summer could be the difference between a ticket to Wembley and a mid-table placing.
“Hopefully, yeah (I’ll stay beyond January),” Brereton Diaz said before Christmas; music to Tomasson’s ears. “I’ll be there until the end of the season. We’re going to the play-offs and we’re trying to get promoted.”
Ben Brereton Diaz could fire Blackburn back into the Premier League
Blackburn’s interest in Brighton poacher Denis Undav, meanwhile, highlights a determination to ease the goalscoring burden on Brereton Diaz’s shoulders. The 26-year-old German has struggled for game-time at the Amex but was prolific in Belgium; netting 45 goals in 68 games for Union Saint-Gilloise while being named the 2021 Jupiler League Player of the Year.
Blackburn made excellent use of the loan market during Tony Mowbray’s era and Tomasson – with Undav on his radar – appears keen to take a leaf out of his predecessor’s playbook.
“I always think you need to change things in the dressing room,” the former Denmark international tells Lancs Live. “We also need players coming into the dressing room, especially to get that competition that we need.”
Todd Cantwell, Nikita Haikin, Gavin Kilkenny and Ryan Porteous would certainly provide that. Cantwell, like Brereton-Diaz, is a free-agent in the summer, but Norwich would rather cash in while they still have the chance. Blackburn saw an initial £1.5 million bid rejected, however (The Sun). And Cantwell looks set to go the same way as fellow targets Joe Gelhardt and Malcolm Ebiowei; Football Scotland reporting that he will become a Rangers player sooner rather than later.
If Cantwell is heading north of the border, then Ryan Porteous could be passing him at Hadrian’s Wall.
Ryan Porteous is a defender and a midfielder rolled into one
“We have made an offer, yes,” Tomasson told the Lancashire Telegraph on Thursday, confirming his interest in the Scotland international. “We’re still waiting for the situation (to resolve itself).”
With the likes of Sunderland and West Brom reportedly keen on Porteous, Tomasson accepts that Blackburn face an ‘extremely difficult’ task getting the Hibernian ace through the door. Porteous is, at least, determined to leave the Scottish Premiership behind, and his versatility would give Tomasson extra options at centre-half and in defensive midfield. Porteous, another out of contract in the summer, will not cost a colossal fee.
As for goalkeeper Nikita Haikin, well he will cost no fee at all. The Lancashire Telegraph claims negotiations with the 27-year-old, Israel-born Russian are underway. There is a confidence at Ewood Park too that Haikin, linked with Chelsea and Everton recently, will arrive to provide genuine competition for arguably the Championship’s finest shot-stopper; the cat-like Thomas Kaminski.
Haikin won two Norwegian titles at Bodo/Glimt, impressed in the Europa League, and is available for free after his contract ran out in December. If Haikin was to sign, Blackburn would have probably the finest selection of goalkeepers in the division.
Neil Kilkenny is another name to keep an eye on. Per The Sun, Bournemouth could re-call the young Irishman from his injury-hit loan at Stoke City, with Blackburn and Blackpool offering alternative destinations. Kilkenny is a stylish, considered ball-winner, and could help Tomasson’s attempts to make Rovers a more effective passing side.
With Brereton Diaz staying, and some inspired, low-cost additions elsewhere, there is no reason why Blackburn cannot still be a top-six side in three months’ time.
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