Blackburn Rovers will hope to emulate £16.5m cash windfall from academy star: View | OneFootball

Phil Jones bagged Rovers £16.5m after the Blackburn academy graduate signed for Man United in 2011, but who could be the club's next academy star?

Phil Jones remains one of Blackburn Rovers' finest academy products in the club's modern history, as the future England international would go on to bag Rovers £16.5m when he signed for Manchester United in 2011.

Having been with his boyhood Rovers since 2002, Jones would continue to turn heads in Blackburn's academy ranks up until 2009, when he would make the leap to first-team football at Ewood Park.

The versatile defender would go on to make a big impression in the senior side, and would eventually capture the attention of Sir Alex Ferguson, and a move to Old Trafford was completed.

With Rovers having been a Championship club since their promotion from League One back in 2018, the importance of consistently producing talented homegrown players is huge for the club.

Not only does it allow them to lace their playing squad with quality players at no cost, but selling them on like they did with Jones, can provide the cash injection needed to propel the club forwards.

Football League World takes a look back on Jones' time with Blackburn, and explores which of Rovers' young talents may be set to follow in his footsteps in the coming years.

Jones' ability should not be forgotten

Football can be a cruel game at times, with injuries robbing certain players of the careers they should've/would've had; Jones is certainly one of those.

Jones, who doesn't turn 33 until February, enjoyed a career that took him right to the top of the game, only for constant injury problems to derail his progress and playing time.

A cumulation of all types of ailments such as hamstring, ankle and a knee injury towards the end of his career that kept him sidelined for 20 months, caused him to retire from playing the game in August 2024.

So, whilst it's this aspect of his career that will always be remembered and talked about the most, it shouldn't be forgotten just how good Jones was.

As a teenager, Jones would make 40 appearances for his boyhood club, with 35 of those coming in the Premier League. During his Manchester United career, he would spend a total of just over three years sidelined through injury (per Transfermarkt), so to still rack up 229 appearances for the Red Devils is an amazing achievement, and a testament to his ability.

United are a club who don't need to stay patient with an injury-prone defender, possessing the financial ability to replace Jones on many occasions, but that wasn't something they ever did.

Jones would represent England 27 times, and was part of the 2012 European Championships and 2014 World Cup squads. At the time of his move to Old Trafford, he was one of the brightest young talents in English football, and would perhaps still be playing at an elite level this season if it wasn't for the injuries he suffered.

Zak Gilsenan looks a real talent if he can stay fit

Having spent two years with Barcelona and five years with Liverpool prior to signing with Blackburn in 2019, Irish youth international Zak Gilsenan's talent and potential has never been in question.

After signing his first professional contract at Ewood Park in May 2021, Gilsenan would later suffer an ACL injury that same year which would keep him sidelined until the summer of 2022.

Upon recovering from that serious injury, the versatile forward would continue to turn heads in Rovers' academy ranks, and would be handed his professional debut in an EFL Cup tie against Walsall in August 2023.

He would go on to make five first-team appearances last season, with two goals and one assist in the Carabao Cup, and a further two appearances in the Championship, whilst he would score seven goals in nine Premier League 2 outings too.

But after missing the start of the 2024/25 season with a muscle problem, they are expected to be patient with their talented young Irishman this term.

A Blackburn academy graduate who has been making a real impression at Ewood Park since 2020, Tyrhys Dolan has established himself as perhaps one of the most underrated young talents in the Championship.

The attacking midfielder has been a central part of Rovers' attacking formula since his breakthrough into the senior side, but as he is set to enter the final six months of his contract in January, the club may look to cash in if they can't agree an extension.

With the young forward having proven himself to be a consistent and reliable performer at Championship level, with the potential to improve significantly over the following years, clubs could still be willing to pay a handsome fee for Dolan in the near future.

Igor Tyjon could have highest potential of any Rovers youngster

The name Igor Tyjon may not mean much to football fans outside of Blackburn, but to those connected with the football club, they know they might just have a very special talent on their hands.

An England youth international, Tyjon is a striker who appears to have that unteachable instinct of finding the back of the net, and his potential is starting to reach the attention of some top clubs, with Manchester United understood to have shown an interest in him.

Tyjon, who doesn't turn 17 until March, has already been handed his professional debut this season, coming on as a late substitute in Blackburn's 3-0 home win over Bristol City in September, and had been involved in Championship matchday squads last season too.

That debut made him the third-youngest player in Blackburn's history, and by the looks of things, he could be writing plenty more history in a Rovers shirt in the coming years.

Jones should always be kept in Rovers' mind when it comes to replicating any player exit.