Blackburn Rovers are set to see another manager target head elsewhere as New York City boss Ronny Deila closes in on the Standard Liege vacancy, according to Belgian reporter Sacha Tavolieri.

The Championship outfit are still on the hunt for Tony Mowbray's successor following his decision to walk away from Ewood Park after five years, with the Venky's seeing numerous contenders for the job head elsewhere.

Both Carlos Carvalhal and Daniel Farke decided to take other jobs - in the United Arab Emirates and Germany respectively - and since then there has been little clue as to who is the leading candidate to land the spot in the Rovers dugout.

 

 

 

 

Per Norwegian journalist Stian Wahl though earlier this week, 46-year-old Deila, who won the Scottish Premiership twice as Celtic manager, was believed to have been interviewed by Rovers, although Standard Liege still held an interest from a month ago.

That interest may now pay off, as it is believed that Deila will head back to Europe to take the Liege job and not the one on offer at Rovers.

It is believed that Deila was the top choice for Liege's new Irish sporting director Fergal Harkin, who worked as the Football Partnerships and Pathways Manager for Manchester City before heading to Belgium, with Deila's current club in the form of New York City of the MLS also under the City Group ownership.

The Verdict

If Deila really was a leading contender for the Rovers job then it would have probably have been a tough choice between the two clubs.

However, perhaps the pull of Harkin, who has worked at the same company as Deila for a few years now, will have been too strong, as well as Liege's chances of European football in the coming years.

It now means for Rovers that they have to cross another name off the list of potential Mowbray replacements - and the list is shrinking on a daily basis.

An appointment needs to be made soon as pre-season will come around very quickly later in the month, and the Venky's cannot afford to wait around much longer as other second tier teams make moves in the transfer window.