Jack Hobbs is a free agent this summer after been released by Nottingham Forest, which should interest plenty of sides.

The 29-year-old has been at Forest since 2013 with the first year of that being on loan. However, his playing time has dramatically reduced over the past few seasons.

Aitor Karanka became Forest's manager in January and Hobbs' only game under him was the final match of the season, so the decision to let him go was no surprise. The Spaniard has made significant changes in personnel at the club and that is likely to continue this summer with Hobbs being one of the players to miss out.

Hobbs played in two league games this season and his number aren't bad, although it has to be acknowledged that these individual performances against Bolton and Sheffield Wednesday have a lot more influence than they normally would due to the small sample size. Neither of these teams finished in the top half of the table, so that has to be taken into account.

His defensive numbers are impressive because he averaged a tackle, an interception and 7 clearances per game. Therefore, he can not only read the game, but also cut out danger in its many forms.

Passing is his most impressive area because of the sheer volume and success rate. He averaged 63.5 passes, which is high, and had 88.2% pass success. Therefore, he can play an active part in the build-up stage which enables the team to play a possession based style if needed.

This may be a small number of examples, but Blackburn aren't asking for the best defender in the Championship. They need someone who can keep them solid in the games against the lower half teams and Hobbs can provide that. His ability to retain possession and circulate it is an added bonus which helps reduce the chance of the team being put under sustained pressure.

The availability as a free agent means he would be a bargain especially for a promoted side such as Blackburn.