Blackburn Rovers midfielder Joe Rothwell has revealed that the time was right for him to leave Manchester United when he left the club to join Oxford in the summer of 2016.

Rothwell had originally joined United as a youngster, and featured for the Red Devils at several age groups over the years.

But despite signing a professional contract with at Old Trafford in 2013, Rothwell never made a senior appearance for the club, instead spending time out on-loan in the Football League with Blackpool and Barnsley, before leaving on a permanent basis to join Oxford at the end of the 2015/16 season.

Reflecting on his time at United, and the decision he made in leaving the club, Rothwell told Blackburn's official website: "I joined when I was five or six, and went right through and ended up leaving when I was 21.

"I had some ups and downs during that time, I left home when I was 12 to move into digs, I moved schools and then it came to a point when I felt it was the right time to leave."

Explaining his decision to move to Oxford amidst offers from rivals clubs, Rothwell went on to reveal: "There was interest from a few clubs to be fair.

"It was a matter of going round and looking. I knew the manager of Oxford at the time, Michael Appleton, who had links with United.

"And from the first time I met him, I felt it was probably the right place for me to go and try to develop. He said that he would allow me to use Oxford as a stepping stone in a way."

Rothwell would spend two years in League One with Oxford before leaving to join Blackburn - who had then just been promoted back to the Championship - in the summer of 2018.

Since his move to Ewood Park, Rothwell has made 68 appearances and scored three goals in all competitions for Rovers.

The Verdict

This looks as though it was a sensible move for Rothwell to make.

At 21-years-old, the midfielder was starting to approach the peak of his career, a time in which he would have been wanting to play as much football as possible.

That is something that looked unlikely to happen at Old Trafford, given the quality of their squad, so it does look as though it was indeed the right time for Rothwell to move on.

It does seem as though that is a decision that has been vindicated for the midfielder, both with the playing time he has enjoyed since, and the fact that the suggestion of using Oxford as a stepping stone appears to have worked, allowing him the chance to get to the Championship with that move to Rovers.