Blackburn Rovers have announced their released and retained for players whose contracts are set to expire at the end of next month, confirming that the club are still in talks with Jack Rodwell and Craig Conway.

Rodwell made 22 appearances over the course of the season following his release by Sunderland last summer, while Conway featured 26 times for the Lancashire side, with his appearance off the bench in the final day draw with Swansea his 200th for the club.

Rovers also confirmed that they are in talks with midfielder Ben Gladwin - who hasn't featured since November 2017 due to injury and has made just 11 appearances for the club. Elsewhere goalkeeper Jayson Leutwiler, who started the final four games of the season, has had a 12 month extension on his contract taken up by the club.

The only first team player confirmed to be leaving the club is defender Paul Downing, who has been on loan with League One play-off contenders Doncaster since January, having struggled for game time at Ewood Park during the first half of the season.

The verdict

There is little surprise that Rovers appear to be interested in keeping Rodwell at the club, given he has demonstrated his ability in a variety of positions this season.

Conway is another who has shown his worth on a number of occasions this season, although the decision to continue talks with Gladwin seem strange, given his injury record and the fact he didn't really convince in the early stages of last seasons League One campaign, as does the choice to extend Leutwiler's deal, given Rovers seem so keen to bring in a goalkeeper to compete with David Raya for the number one spot.

Although a popular figure, Downing's departure seemed inevitable given the way his time at the club has played out this season, and it feels as though this call has been made to give the defender the best opportunity to get as much football as possible elsewhere.