Blackburn Rovers have significantly boosted the quality within their squad during the week, with Tony Mowbray's side securing the signature of former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Lewis Holtby on a two-year deal, following the Germany international's departure from Hamburg this summer.

Mowbray's side are already strong in the midfield department with the likes of Bradley Dack, Bradley Johnson, Joe Rothwell and the promising pair of Lewis Travis and John Buckley all being selected at times in the middle of the park so far this campaign.

The arrival of Holtby however, will provide Mowbray with a different option and brings with it a real selection headache for the former Middlesbrough manager, and there will be many Rovers supporters expecting the German to be one of the first names on the teamsheet when he is up to speed given his quality.

In this Six Point Opinion, we discuss the forthcoming selection headache facing Mowbray...

Firstly, how do you think Blackburn's other midfielders will be feeling about Holtby's arrival?

"There is often a lot of talk about the importance of having real competiton for places within a squad, and that players themselves welcome the extra motivation a new addition in their position provides, making them work harder and demonstrate their full qualities.

"However, with Dack and Johnson being ever presents so far this campaign and both flourishing in the opening seven games, the pair will probably have less fears about their minutes being limited by the signing of Holtby than Rothwell, Travis and Buckley.

"Travis started the season alongside Johnson in Blackburn's midfield, with Rothwell and Buckley being limited to making their appearances from the bench, but he was dropped in favour of Buckley in Rovers' 2-0 win at home to Millwall last weekend and Holtby's arrival could see him have to settle for being a subsititue for future games.

"All of them will probably welcome the Germany international joining the club but may equally fear for their own first-team minutes."

What different traits does Holtby offer from Rovers' other midfielders?

"The main difference Holtby offers is experience with the 29-year-old having racked over 150 of top-flight appearances in both the Premier League and the Bundesliga.

"The only other midfielder to offer similar top-level experience is Johnson who has enjoyed a spell in the Premier League with Norwich City.

"That could prove crucial in helping Mowbray's side make that extra step to enable them to become serious play-off challenges this term.

"Aside from his experience, Holtby has that extra bit of technical quality that is vital to helping a side retain possession and break down opposition defences, Dack is the only player with similar ability in Rovers' squad in the midfield area."

Why do you think Mowbray has moved to add him to his squad given all his other options?

"As per an article in the Lancashire Telegraph, Mowbray believes that signing a player of Holtby's quality and experience can help to raise internal and external expectations of his side and get them really pushing for the top six.

"It is very easy to see why Mowbray has the faith that Holtby's arrival can help boost the profile and potential of his side, with Holtby around the training pitch every week Rovers' younger players can only benefit from his knowledge of the game.

"Obviously, Holtby will need to get up to speed before being able to perform to his full potential in the physically demanding league that is the Championship, but when fully fit Mowbray knows how good of an option he will be, and the option to start him is the sort of dilemma you want."

Will Holtby's arrival signal a formation tweak?

"Potentially, Holtby has the ability to both play in a more advanced role or can be deployed a little further back and look to affect games with the quality of his distribution.

"Dack has predominantly been deployed as an attacking midfielder in Mowbray's 4-2-3-1 formation so far this campaign and been tasked with getting into the box to support a loan frontman.

"It is difficult to see Mowbray changing Dack's role as the former Gillingham man has been excellent in that attacking midfield role, so Holtby is likely to be used alongside Johnson with maybe a little more licence to alter his position than other players would be in that role."

Will Holtby help push Blackburn into the play-offs?

"Whilst Holtby's arrival will significantly boost Blackburn's overall level of quality in possession and ability to break teams down in tight matches, Rovers will still be outside contenders for the play-offs.

"It is clearly Mowbray's ambition to get his side into the division's top six this campaign, but that will be a very big challenge given the resources and quality at the disposal of their potential promotion rivals.

"Having said that, Holtby's addition will boost the level of competition in Rovers' squad and raise the levels of the other players, which might just be enough to make that crucial difference between a midtable and play-off finish."

Finally, in your opinion, how much of a success do you think he will be?

"You can't ignore the quality and experience that Holtby possesses and you would imagine that he will be able to slot straight into the Blackburn's midfield and make an instant impression.

"However, the Championship is a very difficult league to come straight into and perform at a consistently high level, and consistency is something which at times in the German's career he has been accused of lacking.

"Despite that though, Holtby should prove to be an excellent addition at Ewood Park and Rovers supporters are sure to give him a warm welcome to the club, Mowbray could have pulled off a real coup with his addition."