Blackburn Rovers endured a poor January transfer window and this has given them plenty to do during the summer, with Gregg Broughton needing to make a strong statement to get the supporters fully onside.

There will be plenty of areas they need to look at, with a replacement for Ben Brereton Diaz likely to be at the top of the list considering how influential he has been at Ewood Park over the past few seasons.

Their central defence should also be a key priority with Clinton Mola not guaranteed to join permanently as he continues to find his game time limited in Lancashire.

Thankfully for Blackburn, they made a permanent addition in this area last summer with Dominic Hyam coming in to replace the likes of Darragh Lenihan and former loanee Jan Paul van Hecke.

But it could become a major issue once more this summer despite the presence of Hayden Carter and Ashley Phillips, with more experience required at the back if Daniel Ayala leaves the club.

According to Lancs Live, the 32-year-old is keen to extend his stay at the club but considering his age and injury record, it wouldn't be a surprise if Jon Dahl Tomasson let him go on the expiration of his contract at the end of the season.

They will need to put a plan in place to deal with his potential departure and could benefit from keeping a close eye on Middlesbrough, who have former captain Lenihan, Matt Clarke, Dael Fry and Paddy McNair at their disposal.

All four will want to be playing every week for Boro but Michael Carrick won't be able to hand out these opportunities to the quartet unless he starts with a back three and puts McNair in midfield.

A back four seems to be working well for Carrick at the moment though

And with this in mind, you just feel one of the four will end up becoming available in the summer if the Teesside outfit are promoted, especially with Anfernee Dijksteel also able to fill in at centre-back and the club likely to bring in a new central defender or two to give themselves the best chance of remaining afloat in the Premier League.

That could allow Blackburn to swoop in and seal an agreement for one of them, with one of the four likely to be especially useful for the Lancashire outfit if they remain in the Championship beyond this season.

Rovers could go up and Boro could stay down, both could stay in the second tier and both could be promoted - but Tomasson's side should still be keeping tabs on Boro's central defenders with the club needing to prepare for life in the second tier as well as the top flight ahead of the summer.