Blackburn Rovers manager Jon Dahl Tomasson has revealed that he held talks with defender Ryan Nyambe upon his arrival at the club in June in a bid to keep him at Ewood Park, but the Namibia international had already decided on departing.

The 24-year-old ended his 11-year stint with Rovers this summer when his contract expired, and opted to head to Championship rivals Wigan Athletic on a one-year contract.

Having graduated through the academy system in 2015, Nyambe made over 200 appearances in all competitions for Rovers but the final year of his time at the club saw the hierarchy try multiple times to get the right-back tied down to a long-term contract.

It was to no avail though as Nyambe moved on, and he's already appeared six times for the Latics this season, bagging an assist in their 2-1 victory against Luton Town last weekend.

Tomasson has now stated that he wanted Nyambe to remain at the club to be a part of his plans, but his mind was already made up on his future before the Dane was appointed as Tony Mowbray's replacement.

"I spoke with Ryan, I would have liked Ryan to stay," Tomasson said, per LancsLive.

"I think if you look at the numbers that have gone away, they were players that have played a lot.

"We had to get new players in and now we have six or seven new players in the starting 11 compared to last season.

"It is not a problem but we must always remember in our mind, that's why I say it is about passion and patience in a project."

The Verdict

Nyambe was a solid if unspectacular right-back for Blackburn for a number of years when he was fit, with his defensive contributions far stronger than going forward.

With the way Tomasson wants to play though, perhaps his replacement Callum Brittain is far more suited to the current system, although he is currently sidelined with an injury.

It was probably a shock to all Rovers supporters that Nyambe headed to Wigan Athletic out of all the clubs he would have probably had interest from, as on paper they are a far smaller club than Blackburn themselves.

From that, it appears that the Namibia international was desperate to get out of Ewood Park, but we will only know in a year or two's time as to whether it was the right move.