“A strong Daniel Ayala replacement” – Blackburn Rovers keen on swoop for 32-year-old: The verdict

with Blackburn being linked with a move for Danny Batth, 3 of our FLW writers have weighed in on whether this would be a good signing.

This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict‘ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Blackburn Rovers will be aiming to make a positive start to the 2023/24 campaign when they host West Bromwich Albion at Ewood Park next month.

Having narrowly missed out on a place in the play-offs earlier this year, it will be interesting to see whether Rovers will be able to maintain a push for a top-six finish in the upcoming term.

Head coach Jon Dahl Tomasson has already managed to bolster the club’s squad this summer by securing the services of Niall Ennis, Sondre Tronstad and Arnor Sigurdsson.

Rovers are now being linked with a move for Sunderland defender Danny Batth.

What has been said about Blackburn Rovers’ interest in Danny Batth?

According to a Patreon report from journalist Alan Nixon, Blackburn are keen on signing Batth from Sunderlandc.

It is understood that Rovers are currently looking to fill the void left by Daniel Ayala who is now a free-agent following the expiry of his contract.

Batth’s current deal with Sunderland is set to run until 2024.

With Blackburn eyeing a swoop for the 32-year-old, three of our FLW writers have offered their thoughts on whether Batth would be a good addition to the club’s squad, while also assessing his chances of starting for Tomasson’s side.

Would Danny Batth be a good addition to Blackburn Rovers’ squad?

Declan Harte

Signing Batth as a free agent would be a really solid signing for Blackburn if they can pull it off.

Rovers could use some defensive reinforcement, and the arrival of Batth would be a smart solution.

Batth made 40 appearances for Sunderland last season and was key to their strong defensive record.

Batth is an experienced centre back that has proven himself at a Championship level, and his fitness record is dependable.

This would deepen Tomasson’s options while making for a strong Daniel Ayala replacement

Ben Wignall

Batth would be an interesting addition because of his experience and the fact that when he featured for Sunderland last season he didn’t really put much of a foot wrong.

You’d imagine that Jon Dahl Tomasson wants someone with experience at the back to fill the void left by Daniel Ayala, but it’s unlikely that he would start many games ahead of Dom Hyam and Hayden Carter, unless he moves to a three at the back system.

Would Batth want to swap a team who he has been playing regularly for to somewhere he’s not guaranteed game-time?

I’m not so sure myself.

Plus, Sunderland have quite a few young centre-backs who could learn a lot from Batth in the next year so even though he’d be a fine addition for Rovers, he’d be better off remaining on Wearside.

Given that Blackburn will need to bolster their options in this particular area of the pitch before the window closes, it is hardly a shock that they are considering a move for Batth.

The defender made four clearances and won 3.6 aerial duels per game last season for the Black Cats and recorded a respectable average WhoScored match rating of 6.72 in the Championship.

Clearly still more than capable of making a difference in the second tier, Batth would be a good addition to Blackburn’s squad, and thus they ought to step up this particular pursuit in the coming weeks.

While Tomasson is currently able to call upon the services of Hyam, Carter and Scott Wharton, Batth could establish himself as a key member of the club’s starting eleven if he replicates the performance levels that he produced in the previous term for Sunderland in a Blackburn shirt later this year.