Blackburn Rovers will be looking to get some signings in the door sooner rather than later with Jon Dahl Tomasson keen to put his stamp on his first-team squad.

With just a few weeks to go until the start of the 2022/23 campaign, they will miss the presence of the likes of Darragh Lenihan, Ryan Nyambe and Joe Rothwell if the Lancashire outfit fail to recruit replacements.

However, bringing in replacements who can step into their shoes and do a similar job will be difficult considering all three left on the expiration of their contracts, with no extra money being available for Tomasson because of that.

 

 

Lenihan may be particularly hard to replace considering the important role he played under Tony Mowbray, both on and off the field and the second-tier outfit's former captain.

Rothwell will also be a miss considering how valuable he was - and though there's a need to replace him - further departures can't be ruled out either with many of their first-teamers impressing during the 2021/22 season.

With this, we take a look at one incoming deal and one outgoing transfer that could happen at Ewood Park between now and their opening game of the season against Queens Park Rangers.

In: Tim Iroegbunam

Soccer Football - U19 - European Championship Final - Israel v England - Anton Malatinsky Stadium, Trnava, Slovakia - July 1, 2022 England's Tim Iroegbunam in action with Israel's Roy Navi REUTERS/Radovan Stoklasa

Blackburn are just one of several Championship sides interested in recruiting Aston Villa midfielder Iroegbunam, according to Birmingham Live.

Only making three league appearances for Steven Gerrard's side during 2021/22, it's unlikely that the England youth international will be a huge part of his plans during the next 12 months, even though he's a highly-rated prospect in the Midlands.

Not only has Rothwell left - but Jacob Davenport and Bradley Johnson were also released on the expiration of their contracts at Ewood Park last summer - leaving Rovers with few options in this area and this could provide 19-year-old Iroegbunam with plenty of game time if he was to make the move to Lancashire.

Bristol City, Sheffield United, Stoke City and Swansea are also believed to be interested in taking him away from Villa Park on loan though, so Tomasson's side are likely to face a huge battle in their reported quest to secure his services for the next campaign.

Out: Ben Brereton Diaz

Soccer Football - World Cup - South American Qualifiers - Chile v Uruguay - Estadio San Carlos de Apoquindo, Santiago, Chile - March 29, 2022 Chile's Ben Brereton in action with Uruguay's Diego Rossi Pool via REUTERS/Marcelo Hernandez

This is a saga that could potentially drag on throughout the summer as Rovers look to generate the highest amount of money for Brereton Diaz as possible - but taking a firm decision on his future in the coming weeks could reduce disruption to the first-team squad.

If he's sold before the start of the season, that could give the squad the opportunity to become accustomed to playing without him and will provide certainty, giving them the best chance of making a quick start to the campaign.

At this stage, it would be difficult to see the forward signing a new deal and this is why selling him on during this window would be ideal for the Lancashire side if they want to make as much money on him as possible.

This revenue could give Tomasson a much bigger transfer budget to work with and that could help his style of play to bed in at Ewood Park, another reason why selling the 23-year-old wouldn't be the worst idea.

West Ham United are one side still thought to be keeping an eye on him, so this is a saga to keep tabs on.