Blackburn Rovers were one of the impressive early-season promotion contenders.

While Jon Dahl Tomasson’s side have stalled since, falling to 5th in the Championship table in recent weeks, the team still has a chance at earning Premier League football this campaign.

The January transfer window provided an opportunity to make use of the early season momentum, which had Rovers sitting comfortably in 3rd by the time the World Cup break interrupted everything.

But just one signing made during the winter window is an underwhelming use of the mid-season period of player trading.

Sorba Thomas has arrived on loan from relegation battling Huddersfield Town, which in itself is a promising move.

The Welshman has the attacking edge that could give the team a creative boost it needs, if he can recapture his best form from last year.

An impressive tally of three goals and 11 assists helped the Terriers to a play-off final in 2021-22, but his attacking threat has dropped off this campaign.

Zero goals and six assists in a team struggling for form does show he can still contribute but he will be hoping his new surroundings leads to more success.

However, given the promising position that Blackburn had earned themselves in Tomasson’s early months in charge, this is a really poor window from the club.

The pursuit of another forward ultimately ended in no new arrival joining the team, with Deniz Undav and Joe Gelhardt both opting to turn down the chance to join the Lancashire club.

This was also at a time when their play-off rivals were all strengthening their options.

West Brom and Norwich City brought in Premier League experience in Nathaniel Chalobah and Arsenal’s promising young Brazilian Marquinhos.

Middlesbrough had a much more proactive window, signing Cameron Archer, Aaron Ramsey and Dan Barlaser as Michael Carrick looks to take advantage of his team’s good form.

These are the signings that can prove decisive in the race for a top six finish, which will be as competitive as ever this season with the top two spots looking so far out of reach.

Blackburn have jeopardised their position with their transfer strategy.

The handling of Ben Brereton Diaz’s contract has been another unfortunate affair for the club.

If Rovers were unwilling to spend to aid Tomasson’s promotion bid, then perhaps cashing-in on the Chile international would have made more sense than letting him negotiate his free exit to Villarreal for this summer.

While all hope is not yet lost, there are worrying signs that this team won’t sustain their promotion bid and the club could just miss out on a top six spot once again.