Blackburn Rovers have a wonderful history of top players.

The Lancashire side have obviously enjoyed time at the top of the English game and that has seen Ewood Park hosting some wonderful players over the years.

But despite all of the top talent their have also been some forgotten men who have slipped through the net.

Some of these players have dropped to the lower reaches of the game, while others have been able to reignite their career by forging their reputation elsewhere.

Here we take a look at 11 players who have featured for the club that you may have forgotten about.

The central defender is a household name in the English game now - but that wasn't always the case.

O'Connell started his career with Blackburn Rovers but spent plenty of time out on loan with the likes of Rotherham United, York City and Rochdale.

He did make one appearance for Rovers but left in 2015 to join Brentford where he rebuilt his career.

Now a player for Sheffield United, O'Connell has enjoyed life in the Premier League and has certainly made a point to the team at Blackburn Rovers who deemed him surplus to requirements.

However there's no doubt that the defender will be thankful for the start that Blackburn gave him in his career.

The forward has certainly enjoyed a successful career in the game.

After starting his career with Macclesfield Town Blackman moved to Blackburn Rovers in 2009 where he stayed for three years.

While being limited to just three appearances for the club, the player spent time out on loan with the likes of Blackpool, Oldham Athletic, Motherwell and Aberdeen.

Since leaving Ewood Park in 2012 Blackman has established himself as a key player in the EFL after spells with the likes of Sheffield United, Derby County and Reading.

But at 31 years of age Blackman is now playing with Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv where he has been since 2019.

The central midfielder first came to prominence in England back in 2006 when he joined the youth set-up with Middlesbrough.

It was hoped that he would become a central figure in the Teessiders' team but that didn't quite happen as he returned to his native France with Le Mans just two years later.

However when the opportunity came up to join Blackburn Rovers he jumped at the opportunity.

Goulon made just four appearances for the Lancashire side during a spell that saw him spend time with Doncaster Rovers before moving on to a career in Poland, Cyprus and Romania.

Now with Pahang FC in Malaysia, the 31-year-old is enjoying his career with a club he has been with since 2019.

The winger enjoyed a brief spell with Blackburn Rovers.

Samuelsen was at West Ham United between 2015 and 2020 and it was during that time that he went on loan to Ewood Park in 2016.

Unfortunately for him his time with Blackburn didn't exactly go to plan with the Norwegian making just four appearances for the club.

Since then Samuelsen left for Hull City where he has been since last year, however this term he is spending time on loan with Danish side AaB where he is spending the duration of this season.

The Dutch defender is certainly enjoying a career at the highest level.

Rekik moved to Manchester City in 2011 at the age of 17 where he spent his formative years developing into a player who would go on to play for one of Europe's biggest teams.

During his time with City Rekik spent time on loan with Portsmouth, Blackburn Rovers and PSV Eindhoven.

The defender featured just five times for Rovers during his loan spell at the club and rarely looked like a player capable of player at the top of the game - something that he's certainly gone on to do.

Since then Rekik has played for Marseille and Hertha Berlin before joining Spanish side Sevilla in 2020.

After spending his youth career in Sweden the player moved to the UK with Swansea City in 2014.

Barrow showed glimpses of promise during his time with the Swans in which he looked capable of becoming an excellent player.

As part of his journey the winger spent time on loan with Nottingham Forest, Leeds United, and of course Blackburn Rovers.

In that time Barrow made just five appearances for the club during his short spell in Lancashire in 2015.

Since then he's moved on to Reading and more recently South Korean side Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors where he is currently plying his trade.

The striker certainly enjoyed a successful time in the English game.

After starting his career with Brentford the frontman spent time with Crystal Palace, Port Vale and Sheffield United before joining Blackburn Rovers in 2000.

Bent made 37 appearances for Rovers during his season at the club before moving on to join Ipswich Town in 2001.

Since then he's played for the likes of Everton, Charlton Athletic and Birmingham City in a career that has seen him score plenty of goals for many clubs.

His time at Blackburn may not be the most successful of his career but it certainly played a part in his rise.

Another striker who enjoyed an excellent career in the EFL.

Bothroyd started his youth career with Arsenal before joining Coventry City in 2000.

After three years there he moved to Italian side Perugia but struggled to adapt to life on the continent and went in search of a loan move back to England.

It was then that he joined Blackburn Rovers and made 12 appearances for the Lancashire club.

He went on to play for the likes of Charlton Athletic, Wolves, Cardiff City and QPR before moving to Japan where he is currently playing.

The central defender is one of the most recognised defenders in the Premier League right now but spent time with Blackburn Rovers earlier in his career.

After coming through the ranks with Manchester United Keane spent time on loan with Leicester City, Derby County and Rovers as he looked to build up his senior experience.

During that time he made 13 appearances for the Lancashire club before going on to join rivals Burnley on loan not long after.

Since then Keane joined the Clarets on a permanent basis before completing a move to Everton where he is currently thriving under Carlo Ancelotti and featuring regularly for England.

He's currently one of the best strikers in the Championship after leading the play-off push for Reading, but the Portuguese star once featured for Blackburn Rovers.

After playing for Nacional in Portugal Joao completed a move to Sheffield Wednesday in 2015 where he spent four years.

During that time he enjoyed a loan spell at Ewood Park where he made 13 appearances for the club in a short period with the Lancashire club.

Despite returning to Hillsborough after that Joao has since moved on to Reading where he is proving his quality at this level by establishing himself as one of the top strikers in the division.

The Republic Of Ireland international had a short-lived spell at Ewood Park earlier in his career.

After coming through the ranks with Manchester City youngster spent a brief spell on loan with Blackburn Rovers but only made seven appearances for the club in total.

It wasn't long after that he moved to Wigan Athletic before swiftly moving onto Oldham Athletic due to his time with the Latics not working out.

Since then Byrne has spent time with Kilmarnock and Irish side Shamrock Rovers but is now undertaking a more exotic challenge after moving to Cypriot side APOEL earlier this year.