Has Daniel Butterworth got a future at Blackburn Rovers? Here’s how he has done so far at Port Vale | OneFootball

It was no huge surprise to see Blackburn Rovers striker Danny Butterworth head out on loan again in the summer transfer window.

Despite a prolific spell for the club at youth level, Butterworth failed to find the net in his first 17 senior appearances for the Ewood Park club.

That was followed by just one goal in 12 games on loan at League One strugglers Fleetwood in the second half of last season, and a summer where he was unable to get a look in at Rovers under new boss Jon Dahl Tomasson.

As a result, the striker’s summer deadline day loan move to another third-tier club, newly promoted Port Vale, did seem to make perfect sense.

But just how have things gone for the 23-year-old at Vale Park, and does he have a future at Blackburn beyond this latest temporary spell away from the club?

Here, we’ve taken a look at the big questions behind Butterworth’s loan move to Port Vale so far, in order to find out.

How’s it gone so far?

Initially, things did not entirely look promising for a striker such as Butterworth, who will inevitably be judged mainly on his goals, during his time at Port Vale.

The 23-year-old failed to find the net in any of his first eight appearances for the club, suggesting this would be another difficult spell in League One.

However, things are now starting to look more positive for Butterworth, who has since gone on to find the net three times in his next five outings for the club – including an excellent winner against Charlton – suggesting he is finally starting to find his goalscoring touch at senior level.

That has seen the striker help Vale to a more than respectable tenth place in their first season back in the third-tier, where they may now have one eye on a seemingly unlikely play-off push.

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Does he have a future at Blackburn?

This will certainly be a decisive season for Butterworth with regards to his future at Blackburn, with his contract at Ewood Park set to expire in the summer.

The striker’s initial lack of goals appeared to suggest that he did not have the firepower required, to convince the club he could make the impact in front of goal needed, to earn a new deal.

However, if he can now maintain the sort of goalscoring form he has found for Vale in the past few weeks over the rest of the season, it could be argued that he may yet have the scoring touch needed to earn a fresh contract at Ewood Park.

Indeed, with Ben Brereton-Diaz out of contract in the summer, and George Hirst yet to really do enough to suggest Rovers will want to make his loan move from Leicester permanent, this does look as though it could be a rather big opportunity that is now coming Butterworth’s way.