3 Blackburn Rovers players to watch out for in the 2023/24 season

Rovers will be hoping to go at least one place better next season after they finished in seventh in 2022/23

Blackburn Rovers have lost some important players from their squad before the 2023-24 season begins, with long-serving individuals such as Ben Brereton Diaz, Bradley Dack and Daniel Ayala all departing Ewood Park.

Jon Dahl Tomasson operated with a pretty young starting 11 for the most part last season and his wishes to play quick, attacking football means that it’s likely his squad will have a youthful look to it for the upcoming campaign.

With Blackburn looking to finally break their bad luck and get into the play-offs in 2024, let’s look at THREE players that need to be watched out for in the upcoming campaign.

A product of the Blackburn youth academy, Rankin-Costello hasn’t had it all his own way since making his senior debut in 2017.

A very versatile player capable of playing in defence and midfield, multiple injuries have hampered the 23-year-old’s development and he had been unable to get a run of consistent game-time under his belt.

That was until last season where he made the right-back spot his own in the second half of the season, playing 24 Championship matches with two goals and three assists racked up.

Against Huddersfield Town in particular in April, Rankin-Costello had SEVEN shots on target which just shows his attacking nous and given a full season where he doesn’t get injured under his belt, he could be one of the most dangerous full-backs in the entire division.

Can Blackburn retain Adam Wharton?

Wharton needs no real introduction having starred for Rovers multiple time last season, showing maturity beyond his years at the age of 19 in the middle of the park.

The teenager played 18 times for Blackburn in the Championship last season and despite missing a large chunk of the campaign, by the end of it he was a regular fixture in Tomasson’s starting 11 and was looking classier and classier the more minutes he got.

It’s no surprise to see Premier League clubs keen but as he’s under contract for another four years, Rovers will not be pressured to sell unless it’s perhaps for Jude Bellingham-esque money when he departed Birmingham – circa £25 million.

Expect Wharton to be a regular in the starting 11 next season and he should develop into a Premier League player before too long.

Director of football Gregg Broughton hinted that there would be more overseas signings this summer and not only has Sondre Tronstad joined, but Icelandic attacker Sigurðsson has as well.

Rovers have took advantage of FIFA’s ruling regarding the suspension of contracts for players at Russian clubs to take the 24-year-old from CSKA Moscow for the 2023-24 season, having scored 15 times in 26 appearances in the past year for Norrkoping – a top flight Swedish club.

Sigurðsson has been capped 27 times for Iceland and has scored at the Santiago Bernabéu in the UEFA Champions League against Real Madrid, so there is a player with considerable pedigree there and because he played most of his football for Norrkoping on the left, he could be Brereton Diaz’s like-for-like replacement.

He’s not necessarily guaranteed to adapt to English football, but Sigurðsson is a player that Rovers fans can truly get excited about.