Blackburn will not be signing Lewis O'Brien from Nottingham Forest after their appeal to get the deal complete was rejected.

It's no secret that Rovers had agreed to bring the midfielder in during the January window but the move was not finalised before the deadline, meaning the transfer was cancelled.

However, the Championship side felt there were mitigating circumstances for why the paperwork wasn't complete in time, so they lodged an appeal and then took the case to independent arbitrator.

But, in a development this evening, reporter Elliott Jackson has revealed that the this has been rejected, meaning O'Brien will not be joining Rovers to help their promotion push, as he shared an update from the club.

"Unfortunately, the independently appointed arbitrator has now rejected Rovers’ challenge and determined that the EFL correctly interpreted and applied its Regulations and associated Guidance.

"The club is bitterly disappointed by the outcome, but now accepts the decision. As there is no further right of appeal, Lewis O’Brien’s registration will remain with Nottingham Forest."

Jon Dahl Tomasson's side are currently in the play-off places in the Championship.

The verdict

Firstly, you have real sympathy for O'Brien here as he has done nothing wrong and he is in a position where he is going to be unable to play for the next few months as he's not registered with Forest.

Of course, we know that Blackburn made mistakes with his deal and they will no doubt be regretting it as the deal was finally called off.

But, Tomasson knows that he has quality within his ranks and whilst this would have been a real boost, it was always unlikely to happen.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.