This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict’ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
Reda Khadra joined Blackburn Rovers towards the end of the transfer window, it will be his first senior loan move away from Brighton and Hove Albion and only time will tell if the German can adapt to the pace of the Championship. Rovers currently sit in tenth place after five matches, just one point behind the play-off places which is an impressive start considering the concerns around the side after the departure of Adam Armstrong. So far Ben Brereton Diaz and Sam Gallagher have stepped up to the mantle in terms of goalscoring and with flair players like Reda Khadra and Tyrhys Dolan available to compliment them, Tony Mowbray's men could be onto a good thing. It will be interesting to see whether Khadra can earn the trust of his manager quickly after the international break. Here, we get the thoughts of a selection of FLW writers on whether they expect Reda Khadra to be a consistent first team regular at Blackburn Rovers this season... George Dagless You would think he will be. Brighton will have wanted assurances he is going to play regularly during this loan spell and Rovers obviously wanted to get him in and potentially make him the latest loan arrival from the Premier League that shines for them - as Harvey Elliott did last season. Rovers needed to add in Khadra's position so there's obviously an opening for him but, that all said, he still has to prove himself and that will be the ultimate factor behind whether he plays regularly or not. Tony Mowbray obviously likes the look of him to sign him in the first place and now it's up to Khadra to make the most of this opportunity and perform to the levels he knows he can. Do that, and he should be a regular this season. Ben Wignall I think due to his lack of experience in senior football, Khadra may have to bide his time when it comes to being a starter in Tony Mowbray's team. The German has a good pedigree arriving in England from Borussia Dortmund and his record of three goals in six under-23 Premier League matches can't be faulted, but Mowbray has a few options out wide who he may prefer right now. Ben Brereton seems to have the left-wing spot locked down unless he will be pushed into the middle following the club's failure to sign a striker before the deadline, whilst on the other side Ian Carlo Poveda and Tyrhys Dolan could battle for that particular wing position. Khadra has also seen suffering with an ankle injury for a little while which means it may take him a bit longer to get up to speed with the rest of the squad, so don't expect too much from him initially. We may only see the best out of the youngster towards the end of 2021 when he will be fully acclimatised to English football but he sure looks like an exciting one to develop this season for Blackburn. Toby Wilding It would feel like something of a surprise if Khadra does not feature regularly for Blackburn over the course of the campaign. With Blackburn's failure to bring in a replacement for Adam Armstrong meaning it seems likely Sam Gallagher will move into a more central role, and Harry Chapman having been loaned out to Burton, it does seem as though there are voids to be filled on the wings for Rovers. That ought to open the door for Khadra to enjoy some decent opportunities in the first-team, and given his promising reputation, you imagine Mowbray will be keen to use him to get the most out of a player Rovers worked hard to get, having stuck with the deal through to deadline day after injury had held it up earlier in August. Indeed, Blackburn have also built a reputation in recent years as a club where young Premier League loanees can flourish, and given that route accounted for four of their five signings this summer, you imagine that is something they will want to maintain so they can exploit it again in the future if necessary, and giving Khadra the game time that you imagine would help him to improve would be a good way of doing that.