Jon Dahl Tomasson is preparing for his first season as Blackburn Rovers boss and should look to re-sign these former Ewood Park players this summer to boost his promotion bid.
The Lancashire outfit parted ways with Tony Mowbray this May after five years on the back of finishing the 2021/22 Championship campaign in eighth-place. It marked their best result under the 58-year-old, but they missed out on play-off football by six points to Luton Town.
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Blackburn have not competed for promotion since their relegation from the Premier League in 2011/12 with eighth-place their top finish. Tomasson will now look to build on Mowbray’s work and should consider re-signing these former Blackburn players during his first window.
Tomasson should consider re-signing Everton’s Branthwaite for Blackburn
Everton are set to send Jarrad Branthwaite out on loan this summer, with a host of Football League clubs interested. The Daily Mail note the Toffees are keen for the 20-year-old to play regular first-team football next season to gain valuable experience after a difficult campaign.
The towering 6 ft 5 centre-back played six Premier League games last term while the Blues fought to avoid relegation. He also did not appear in a top-flight fixture until December after recovering from the ankle injury that ended Branthwaite’s loan spell with Blackburn in 2021.
Mowbray hired the defender from Everton in the winter sales and fielded Branthwaite in 10 Championship games. Tomasson should now consider re-signing the Carlisle native for his first term at Blackburn, but would have to rival at least six second-tier sides for the player.
Blackpool, Cardiff City, Huddersfield Town, Middlesbrough, Sheffield United and Sunderland are all interested in loaning Branthwaite from Everton. PSV Eindhoven and Schalke are also keen on the England U20 gem, who scored his first senior goal at Chelsea last December.
Everton hope to find Branthwaite regular minutes next term as they want him to kick on in his career after penning a new contract running to 2025 in December. His potential also has Manchester United sniffing around, with the Daily Mail also citing the Red Devils as a suitor.
Blackburn should re-sign Khadra after Brighton gem’s regular role under Mowbray
Reda Khadra has returned to Brighton & Hove Albion following his loan spell at Ewood Park under Mowbray last term. But Tomasson should seek to re-sign the German this summer as he had a regular role at Rovers with five goals and three assists in 26 Championship games.
The 20-year-old also started 18 matches and offered Mowbray a versatile operator with his appearances spread around the engine room. Khadra also featured as a centre-forward and on both wings, so he would make a valuable addition for Tomasson’s plans if he can return.
Brighton may be keen to let the Berlin-born dynamo head back to Lancashire if Tomasson is interested in loaning him. Khadra has only made one first-team appearance for the Seagulls so far in his career. His cameo at Manchester City in January 2021 also lasted four minutes.
Tomasson can re-sign Mahoney for free as Millwall release former Blackburn player
Tomasson should re-sign former Blackburn player Connor Mahoney for free this summer as Millwall have released the winger. He left Ewood Park back in 2017 to join Bournemouth for £425k in compensation, but did not find a home between loan spells before leaving in 2019.
Yet three years on, Mahoney is leaving The Den after 68 appearances in all competitions for five goals and seven assists. The 25-year-old offered three assists over 21 appearances at Blackburn, before then failing to score or assist from just two outings with Bournemouth.
Gary Rowett still believes in what Mahoney can achieve in the game, but the Millwall boss explained his release this summer was to afford the forward a chance to reignite his career.
“He didn’t quite fit into what we were trying to do, but he’s a talented player,” Rowett said, via News at Den. “He’s got really nice ability, as we know. He’s another one that needs to go somewhere next season and play regularly and get his career back on track.
“Every player needs to have that opportunity. So, he’s one that won’t be retained and for his sake, he needs to go and kick-start his career, and hopefully he will do. He’s a really nice lad and he’s a talented footballer.”
Blackburn can give Jones chance to reignite career after Manchester United plight
Tomasson can give Phil Jones a chance to reignite his career, too, by asking Blackburn to re-sign their former player from Manchester United. The 30-year-old left Ewood Park for Old Trafford in 2011 for £16m, but several injuries have spoilt his career for the past four years.
The last three seasons have been particularly tough for the 27-cap England international, as he has only featured 13 times. Jones even missed the entirety of the 2020/21 campaign as a knee issue sidelined the centre-back for two years after hamstring, ankle and toe problems.
He returned to fitness in November and only missed two of the Red Devils’ next 26 Premier League matchday squads. Yet Jones only played four times and made two starts for a total of 161 minutes, so will need a transfer this summer to enjoy any success on the pitch soon.
Reports by Marca claim Fulham, Leeds United and Southampton have shown some interest in signing Jones. But the one-time Premier League winner may benefit from stepping down into the Championship and standing a better chance of fighting for regular games next term.
Tomasson should rival Burnley to re-sign former Blackburn player Harwood-Bellis
Taylor Harwood-Bellis is likely to leave Manchester City on loan once again this year, having spent the last 18 months away from the Etihad Stadium. Blackburn signed the England U21 centre-back for the latter half of 2020/21, before spells with RSC Anderlecht and Stoke City.
He enjoyed 19 appearances whilst at Ewood Park, before featuring 19 times in Belgium and turning out 24 times for the Potters. The 20-year-old also played all but 20 of 1,980 minutes on offer in the Championship last season after joining Stoke during the winter 2022 market.
A return to the second-tier is now on the cards, with The Sun reporting Vincent Kompany is interested at Burnley. Harwood-Bellis played under the Citizens legend at Anderlecht, but wanted to return to England over the winter and Kompany hopes his connections will help.
“Taylor, first of all, is a great lad and player,” Kompany said, via quotes by LancsLive earlier this month. “A leader and someone I have a lot of time for, so we will see [about a move].”
Celtic are also keen on the classy yet powerful defender as they strive to strengthen on the back of winning the Premiership title. But Tomasson should strive to see Blackburn re-sign Harwood-Bellis and frustrate a likely promotion rival in Burnley following their relegation.
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