Predicting the next 3 Blackburn Rovers wonderkids to break through into the first-team
Rovers have been served well by their academy in recent years
Blackburn Rovers’ academy has produced several talented players who are making a big impact at the senior level.
Pat Gamble, a 19-year-old promising centre back, could be in line for a first-team debut soon.
Harley O’Grady-Macken, an 18-year-old central midfielder, has shown promise and could follow in the footsteps of other successful academy graduates at the club.
Blackburn Rovers have reaped plenty of benefits from their highly successful academy set-up in recent years.
A significant percentage of Jon Dahl Tomasson’s first-team squad at Ewood Park have come through the youth ranks at the club, and are now making a big impact at senior level.
Indeed, of the starting XI that took Blackburn to a 1-0 win at Watford on Sunday afternoon, five – Joe Rankin-Costello, Hayden Carter, Harry Leonard, Adam Wharton and captain Lewis Travis – came through the club’s academy.
There is therefore, an understandable excitement about who might be next to make that step up to senior level at Ewood Park, after coming through the club’s academy.
So with that in mind, we’ve taken a look at three young Blackburn Rovers prospects who could be next to break into the first-team, right here.
Pat Gamble
Having worn the captain’s armband for the club’s Under 21s plenty of times in recent seasons, Gamble is one player who could well be getting a call-up for a first-team debut by Jon Dahl Tomasson in the not too distant future.
With Rovers having been made to wait for the signing of a centre back in the summer transfer window, the departures of Daniel Ayala and Ashley Phillips, as well as another long-term injury to Sam Barnes, have moved Gamble up the pecking order for a period.
As a result, the 19-year-old is now getting the chance to be part of the first-team matchday set-up for the first time in the early stages of this season, an opportunity that the promising centre back will no doubt be desperate to take, to ensure he has more chances to come in the future.
Harley O’Grady-Macken
Another option who is starting to make his way onto the fringes of the first-team picture, is Harley O’Grady-Macken.
An 18-year-old central midfielder with an eye for goal, as he has shown at youth level in recent years, O’Grady-Macken has already got a taste of senior football in pre-season friendlies, where he has certainly shown some considerable promise.
That position is also one where Rovers have enjoyed plenty of success in bringing academy graduate into the first-team, with current options in that area, Lewis Travis, Adam Wharton, John Buckley and Jake Garrett all coming through the club’s academy ranks, meaning it would be no surprise if O’Grady-Macken did the same, especially given the void that could be opened by the attention Wharton in particular is starting to attract.
Junior Nsangou
A need to add more goals to the side has been a major priority and talking point for Blackburn once again in this summer’s transfer window, and one youth prospect who could help solve that issue in the future, is Junior Nsangou.
The 17-year-old scored nine goals in 19 league games for the club’s Under 18s last season, and has already found the net for both Rovers Under 18s and Under 21s during the current campaign, demonstrating his eye for goal.
He has also been capped by Poland at Under 19 level to further highlight his potential, suggesting that Nsangou could be one to watch in the coming years, as a player whose goalscoring abilities could generate plenty of excitement for fans at Ewood Park.
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