Blackburn Rovers issued clear warning after deadline day – It’s “turned into a big mess”
In February, Valerien Ismael was named manager to replace John Eustace, who left to join Derby County, and this
was his first opportunity to establish himself on the first team roster.
However, a number of players left Ewood Park after their narrow play-off miss due to contract issues. Tyrhys Dolan,
for example, left on a free transfer to Espanyol after he was unable to reach an agreement with Rovers, and three
long-serving players, Lewis Travis, Dominic Hyam, and Callum Brittain, were sold to Derby County, Wrexham, and
Middlesbrough for the final year of their contracts, respectively.
This led to a number of incomings, many who don’t have much, if any Championship experience, with the squad
receiving a major overhaul relative to expectations after coming so close to a top six finish in the previous campaign.
Blackburn Rovers transfer regret claim issued as major experience departs Ewood Park
Given how close they were to contending for promotion to the Premier League, he emphasised that the departures of
“We sold all of our Championship experience, which was the club’s biggest move this summer,” Middlehurst told
“If you compare the team we had and the majority of the games we played last season, you’ll see that we sold or
| Blackburn Rovers – 2025/26 Departures | ||
|---|---|---|
| Player Name | Signed For | Loan/Permanent |
| John Buckley | Al-Kholood | Permanent |
| Joe Rankin-Costello | Charlton Athletic | Permanent |
| Lewis Travis | Derby County | Permanent |
| Callum Brittain | Middlesbrough | Permanent |
| Dominic Hyam | Wrexham | Permanent |
| Harry Leonard | Peterborough | Permanent |
| Jack Vale | N/A | Free Agent |
| Tyrhys Dolan | Espanyol | Free Agent |
| Andreas Weimann | Derby County | Free Agent |
| Dilan Markanday | Chesterfield | Free Agent |
| Danny Batth | Derby County | Free Agent |
| Jalil Saadi | Ethnikos | Free Agent |
| Jordan Eastham | Ashton United | Free Agent |
| Connor O’Riordan | Doncaster Rovers | Loan |
| Jack Barrett | Tranmere Rovers | Loan |
“And this is a team that finished one goal outside of the play-offs.
“We have basically stripped down everything that we built last season, and replaced it with players that aren’t really proven, or haven’t been proven yet.
“The best way I can describe it is that it’s basically turned into a big mess at Blackburn.”
Given how successfully they finished the previous season after starting poorly under Ismael, Blackburn didn’t need
to do much over the summer. However, drastic changes were made when the leadership decided to cash in on
players who were nearing the end of their contracts.
Given how poorly they’ve played in the first four games, it’s a significant gamble, and the initial impression is that it’s
not paying off, but they might simply need more time to settle in.
Though it’s still early and perhaps everything will work itself out after the international break in September, the
squad’s lack of Championship experience is concerning.
With Hyam leaving so late for Wrexham, Ismael has few options at centre-back. This could be fixed in the free agent
market, but it will take some time for supporters to move past the decision in the first place. Their decision to cash in
on first-team players has strengthened a number of their Championship rivals.
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