Blackburn Rovers' £750k Gillingham FC punt reaped serious rewards: View | OneFootball

There weren’t many positives about Blackburn Rovers’ brief sojourn into League One in the 2017/18 campaign, but the signing of Bradley Dack was most definitely one of the best things to happen to the club at the time.

The attacking midfielder had been in red-hot form for Gillinghambefore his £750k move to Ewood Park, with 24 goal contributions for a side that flirted with the third tier playoffs 12 months before he left, with his quality in the final third there for all to see.

Whether he was darting in from out wide or playing behind the striker, the playmaker would prove to be a pivotal part of the Rovers side in the years to come, as he took to life in Lancashire with consummate ease.

With Danny Graham playing alongside him in the third tier, Dack was part of a devastating partnership that left League One defences running scared, before continuing that once a return to the Championship was secured, making him one of the best-value signings for the club of all time.

Bradley Dack shines for Blackburn Rovers en route to League One promotion

It took Dack a while to get going in a blue and white shirt, with the Rovers faithful having to wait until his seventh match before he found the back of the net for his new side; as he fired home a late equaliser in a 1-1 draw with Shrewsbury Town.

That goal breathed new belief into Dack’s game, and it wasn’t long before those at Ewood Park were being dazzled by the new man on the block, with his trademark runs into the penalty area impossible to deal with, as he plundered time after time as Rovers clicked into top gear.

Get the ball and go; that seemed to be Dack’s mantra as he continued to impress in an upwardly mobile side, with his jinking runs sparking many a counter-attack, as he meandered past many a static defender in the hunt of more goals for his tally.

Inside the box or outside, he was always posing a threat, and rescued many a point for his side in the battle for automatic promotion, as surprise package Shrewsbury kept them honest for the majority of the campaign at the top of the table.

18 goals and a promotion later, Dack was given his first chance in the second tier, and showed no signs of slowing down as Rovers returned to the Championship with a spring in their step after such a promising promotion campaign.

New league, same old Bradley Dack: another late penalty box surge saw him net on his first game of the season against Ipswich Town, and gave the rest of the division a warning of what was to come, not that they took it, of course.

Six goals in his first nine league matches saw Rovers have one of the hottest properties in the EFL on their hands for a period, with his ability to sweep home crosses at the first time of asking proving an ever-reliable source of goals at the business end of the field.

It was no surprise that plenty of Premier League sides were taking an interest in the midfielder, with Aston Villa, Sheffield United and West Bromwich Albionall said to be interested in his services during the summer of 2019.

Dack stayed put though, and looked ready to help fire Rovers into the top tier himself during the next campaign, with nine league goals before Christmas continuing his red-hot form in front of goal, before disaster struck in the midst of the festive period.

Injury hell scuppers Bradley Dack’s Blackburn Rovers career

A knee injury sustained two days before Christmas in 2019 ended his season right there and then, and in truth, he has hardly been the same player since.

It took over a year for him to be back playing for Rovers - with his return coming on Boxing Day 2020 - before netting three more goals in the remainder of the 20/21 campaign as he looked to get back to his best.

Goals, and appearances, proved to be few and far between from then onwards; with just 13 starts over the next two seasons highlighting the trouble he had with his body through 24 agonising months, before his departure for Sunderland last summer.

That’s not to say he didn’t play his part right until the end though, with a number of crucial strikes in his last season at Ewood Park helping in their fight for a playoff position, although that ultimately came up short as the club ended in seventh spot.

With the club deciding to cut ties in the summer of 2023, Rovers fans will always remember Dack for bringing the good times back to the club again after the misery that came with relegation to the third tier.

He was the man that got Ewood Park buzzing again, and gave fans something to believe in after years of disillusionment, and for that he will always be remembered fondly in that part of Lancashire.

Despite his injury record, he remains one of the best pieces of business the club has done in recent years, with his six-figure fee one of the bargains of the century for any club in the EFL.