Ipswich Town success may have killed Blackburn Rovers transfer hopes: View | OneFootball

Ipswich Town and Blackburn Rovers are two teams with two different objectives as we enter the closing stage of the Championship season.

The Tractor Boys are still in pursuit of a top-two finish, which would mean they are playing Premier League football next season.

Meanwhile, the Lancashire side are looking to keep their heads above the dotted line as they try to avoid relegation to League One.

The Championship season has entered the final few games, and what these two clubs achieve will impact future plans for their respective clubs.

However, it seems Ipswich’s recent success will give them an edge when it comes to transfers, especially ones that see Blackburn involved as well.

Both clubs were admirers of Hearts’ defender Alex Cochrane in January, and you would presume that if that interest were to resurface, Blackburn’s chances would be weaker.

Ipswich Town and Blackburn Rovers were interested in Alex Cochrane in January

It was reported by Football Insider towards the end of this year’s January transfer window that both Ipswich Town and Blackburn Rovers were interested in signing Alex Cochrane, as well as Premier League side Burnley.

The report stated that the Englishman has been impressing with his performances for the Scottish Premiership side, and that has put these three teams on alert.

Cochrane began his football career with Brighton & Hove Albion, but he only featured on two occasions for the first team, with the majority of his time being spent in the academy or on loan elsewhere.

The left-back spent the 2021/22 season on loan at Hearts, and then it was announced that he had joined the Scottish side on a permanent basis after that loan.

The 23-year-old signed a three-year contract when he joined the club, so he will enter the final 12 months this summer, meaning interest could re-emerge once again. But if it does, you would have to expect Ipswich to have the edge in this race.

This 2023/24 season has been very contrasting for both Ipswich and Blackburn, as they fight at different ends of the table.

The Tractor Boys will hope that between now and the end of the campaign they have sealed promotion to the top flight, but if not, they will hope to do it via the play-offs.

So, you would expect Ipswich sealing promotion to mean that Blackburn’s chances of signing Alex Cochrane would become slim, as Kieran McKenna could potentially be looking for a new left-back, given Leif Davis’ situation.

But, even if Davis stays at Portman Road, McKenna could look to add someone like Cochrane to their ranks, as he would provide added competition, which would be needed in the Premier League.

Yet, even if promotion isn’t secured, Ipswich would likely lose Davis, and therefore, signing a left-back would still be a priority, and Cochrane could still be on the club’s list of targets.

The 23-year-old has impressed this season with Hearts, as he’s started all 25 league games he has been available for, and he has performed so well that he has been named in team of the week twice, per Sofascore.com.

Cochrane hasn’t scored in the league yet, but he has been very creative in his play, creating five big chances for his teammates as well as registering 2.0 key passes, which has led to him grabbing three assists.

So, given that the player will enter the final 12 months of his contract at the end of this season and that he had interest in him during January, it is likely that there will be admirers once again this summer.

It is obviously unclear if either Ipswich or Blackburn will be interested in the defender again, but if they both are, Ipswich’s campaign has probably put an end to any hopes Rovers had of signing Cochrane.

That is because the left-back will surely pursue a move to Portman Road, whether they are in the Premier League or not, over a move to Ewood Park, where they could possibly be playing League One football next season.