Blackburn Rovers: Leeds United and Tottenham pair tipped to succeed Sammie Szmodics if sold
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…
It could have been a much more difficult season for Blackburn Rovers without the outstanding individual achievements of Sammie Szmodics, but the Championship Golden Boot winner now has multiple clubs vying for his signature.
Blackburn had a difficult season, but would ultimately avoid relegation from the second tier with a 19th-place finish in the final standings. The 28-year-old may have enjoyed a decent first season for Rovers after his arrival from Peterborough United, but he has gone up a level this time around, as he hit 33 goals in all competitions for Blackburn as they battled to survive.
Unsurprisingly, he finished as the top scorer in the league as it enters a season-defining period during the run-in, where his and Blackburn’s fate will be decided very soon. Such form was always likely to have caught the eye of potential suitors.
It has inevitably led to the attacking midfielder being linked with a number of other clubs ahead of the summer transfer window. It has previously been claimed that Fulham are the latest club to show an interest in the forward, with Luton Town and Brentford previously thought to be monitoring Szmodics, with it being reported by Alan Nixon that the latter are long-term admirers of the player.
Other reports believe that Galatasaray have launched a £12 million bid for Szmodics. Potentially enticed by the prospect of Champions League football, Szmodics may push for an exit from Ewood Park. Nothing has yet to meet Rovers’ £15–20 million asking price, and recent suggestions are that there remains the possibility of a new deal for the 28-year-old, per the Lancashire Telegraph.
Tottenham and Leeds United pair could be ideal Sammie Szmodics replacements
Despite talk of a new deal, there are no guarantees that Szmodics will remain at Ewood Park as a highly coveted player playing for a side that just finished in the bottom half of the division, and a player of his quality will require replacing by the club for 2024/25.
Here, we ask our FLW writers their verdict on who could fill his boots for next season, should he depart the club.
Adam Elliott
The first thing to consider when sourcing a replacement for Szmodics is player profiles. Do the club want a like-for-like player? Or would they prefer more of a striker to play alongside a target man?
Szmodics essentially played as part of a front two in a withdrawn forward role. As the secondary striker, he was able to drop off the front man or use his speed to run beyond, ane became a nightmare for opposition defenders to pick up.
Not only has Szmodics shown a clinical edge in front of goal, but he is a constant threat with his ability on the ball and his movement stretching play in behind for Blackburn, who are set up to get the most out of him and find him in dangerous positions in the final third as frequently as possible. His box-crashing ability and interpretation of space around the box is second-to-none in the division.
Finding a direct alternative is likely to be both difficult and expensive, but one option that could develop into a player like Szmodics is Leeds United’s Joe Gelhardt.
Had Leeds achieved promotion through the Championship play-offs, Gelhardt’s exit from the club would surely have been accelerated. After he seldom featured last season, the 22-year-old has been cast out of the starting picture by Daniel Farke and has every right to feel hard done by.
Gelhardt’s long-term future in West Yorkshire is unclear, with his development stalling over the last couple of seasons. However, there is talent there, and he could be available at a cut-price fee with his stock as low as it is, and with Leeds needing to raise funds for PSR reasons.
He is in need of a move, be it permanent or via a temporary loan to secure first-team football next season, and to help him further realise his potential with regular second tier gametime.
Gelhardt featured 13 times in total last season, including just four starts and one goal. Blackburn could provide that much-needed regular football. He is also versatile but is a player that operates best behind a striker, either as a right-sided inverted forward, or behind the main centre-forward in a secondary-striker role, whilst plenty of his career has been played as a number-nine as well.
