Blackburn Rovers could have greater financial muscle in the coming transfer windows if they are to lose Ben Brereton Diaz in January.

Adam Armstrong's lucrative sale in the summer largely covered the club's losses of revenue from the behind closed doors 2020/21 campaign, but recouping a significant fee for the Chilean could go some way towards bolstering the squad.

Tony Mowbray's men have manipulated the loan market to their advantage tremendously in the last few seasons, luring in some excellent young players from Premier League clubs and developing them at Ewood Park.

With the likes of Harvey Elliott and Tosin Adarabioyo progressing in their careers after a loan spell at Blackburn it might be time for Rovers to begin trying to turn some of their loan deals into permanent ones.

Those two examples were players from Liverpool and Manchester City, Jan Paul Van Hecke is on loan from Brighton and Hove Albion where he only signed in the summer and has a contract on the South Coast until the end of next season.

The 21-year-old opened his account for Blackburn at the weekend with a towering header from a corner against second placed Bournemouth. In looking ahead to next season, Rovers could be set to lose a handful of players whose contracts are running down and defensive reinforcements will be needed.

Van Hecke's value will decrease if Brighton do not offer him a new contract and so it could be sensible for Blackburn to start showing interest in a permanent move now. Darragh Lenihan's contract is up in the summer and the Irishman could be an attractive proposition for more wealthy Championship clubs or even present value for some lower Premier League teams.

At just 21, Van Hecke's potential cannot be quantified yet and if he continues to grow into his role at Blackburn as impressively as he has in recent weeks then the Dutchman will gain a lot of admirers.

Even though they are in a brilliant league position going into January, it is always worth prioritising the longer term and starting negotiations around a permanent move for Van Hecke would be very smart.