Blackburn Rovers face obstacle to six-figure January deal | OneFootball

Highlights

Blackburn Rovers are hopeful of bringing in a young centre-back in the January transfer window, but a spanner has been thrown in the works by the player's club.

As things stand, only one team in the Championship has conceded more goals than Rovers (48) in the 2023/24 season. That team is Rotherham United, who sit bottom of the table and have conceded 50 goals in the opening 26 games of the season.

Despite the fact that they have scored more goals than two of the teams who currently sit in the final two playoff spots - Sunderland and West Bromwich Albion - Blackburn sit 17th in the league, and tightening up at the back will massively help them close the gap to the top sides.

Jon Dahl Tomasson's side want to sign 20-year-old Crewe Alexandra centre-back Connor O'Riordan to try and help fix these issues. There is a £500,000 release clause in his contract, according to journalist Alan Nixon, but the terms of the deal are what's causing the hold-up.

Nixon said that Rovers want to: "thrash out a payment plan," with Crewe, so that they don't have to pay the full £500,000 at one time to acquire the Irish defender. But, Alexandra want the payment: "in one hit."

Blackburn have other plans in place to potentially sign another central defender. Nixon also reported that the club are interested in Leeds United centre-half Charlie Cresswell. They will likely face another sticking point with this move too, as Rovers would have to take on almost all of his wages to bring him in on loan. They are also said to be keen on young Leeds forward Joe Gelhardt too, as per Nixon.

A modern centre-back

The 20-year-old League Two defender has been playing in the EFL since he was 18. He played 11 games, eight of which were starts, for Crewe in their last campaign in League One (2021/22), and has been a regular starter in League Two since the club's relegation at the end of said season.

This season is where O'Riordan has really kicked on. The young defender is currently averaging a 7.06/10 Sofascore match rating in the league. Where he has impressed the most has actually been his on-ball ability. Among central defenders in the fourth division of English football, O'Riordan ranks in the top 20% for pass accuracy and long ball accuracy, as per FotMob.

All of his shooting stats rank in the top 20% for centre-halves, according to FotMob. He's averaging 0.16 goals per game, and 0.32 shots on target per game.

A project signing

The problems that Dahl Tomasson's side currently face don't necessarily require a central defender whose current best attributes are attacking ones. They need someone who can help them provide defensive stability, and O'Riordan hasn't fully shown that he's able to give that to a backline that he's part of.

Only one team in the top half of the League Two table has shipped more goals than Crewe have. O'Riordan is only in the top 30% of central defenders in the league for blocks made per 90, and the only other defensive metric that FotMob measures which he ranks in the top 40% for is interceptions per 90.

He's a project signing for Rovers. At his age, there's plenty of room to grow and develop. But, with the battle for those final playoff spots being so heavily contested this season, half-a-million pounds on a defender might be better used on someone who will give them that chance to get into the top six.