Ranked: 10 Blackburn Rovers players who’ve had the biggest market value increases since their debuts | OneFootball

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Football League World

·20 April 2021

Ranked: 10 Blackburn Rovers players who’ve had the biggest market value increases since their debuts

Article image:Ranked: 10 Blackburn Rovers players who’ve had the biggest market value increases since their debuts

There can be no doubting that the summer transfer window will be a busy one for Blackburn Rovers.

As things stand, there are currently 11 senior players who are set to be out of contract at Ewood Park this summer, while five more see their loan deals with the club expire at the end of this season.


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With that in mind, it seems that Blackburn will need to bring in plenty of players to replace those potentially outgoing individuals, meaning the market does look set to be a busy one for Rovers.

What it also means however, that due to those expiring contracts, the club do face losing some rather valuable assets, for not too much in terms of funds, in no small part due to the progress they have made at Ewood Park.

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Here, we’ve taken a look at the ten current Blackburn players who have seen their market value rise the most since making their debut for Rovers, according to Transfermarkt.

We start this list with Joe Rankin-Costello, who made his Blackburn debut back at the start of the 2016/17 season, when he didn’t even have a market value.

Rankin-Costello had to wait until last season to really enjoy a run in the Rovers’ first-team, and injury has so far limited him to just 29 appearances in all competitions for the club, although the 21-year-old’s versatility has made him a key asset when fit, not least providing cover for Ryan Nyambe at right-back when fit.

That has seen his market value rise to £900,000 during his time in the senior setup at Ewood Park, earning him tenth place here.

Another player to have come through the academy to earn a place on this list, is midfielder Lewis Travis.

Since making his debut at a similar time to Rankin-Costello early in the 2017/18 season, Travis has gone onto make just over 100 appearances in all competitions for Rovers, although he has been hampered by injury problems of his own this season in particular.

Even so, his tenacity has made him a key asset in the centre of the park for Blackburn, who will be pleased he still has over two years remaining on his current contract, with his market value having risen from nothing, to £1.08million during his time in the Rovers first-team.

Following their promotion from League One in the summer of 2018, Rothwell was the first player Blackburn signed ahead of the return to the Championship, the midfielder joining from Oxford United.

Since then, the 26-year-old has made 115 appearances in all competitions for the club, scoring eight goals and providing seven assists, with his performances when he is on form making him one of the most dangerous midfielders in the division.

That has seen him value increase from £180,000 to £1.62million – a rise of £1.44million – during his time at Ewood Park, and he is one of those Blackburn will be keen to secure new deal for as we approach the end of the campaign.

It’s probably fair to see that Tyrhys Dolan has been one of the revelations of the season at Blackburn Rovers.

Having joined last summer following his release from local rivals Preston’s youth setup, the 18-year-old has somewhat unexpectedly broke into Rovers’ first-team this season, becoming a near ever present feature in the matchday squad, scoring three goals and providing two assists in 33 league games.

That has already seen the teenager handed a new long-term deal at Ewood Park until the summer of 2024, where his market value has risen from nothing, to £1.8million, which is enough to earn him seventh place on this list.

Another player who did not have a market value when he made his debut appearance for Rovers – in August 2015 – is Ryan Nyambe.

Since then, the right-back has become one of Rovers’ most improved players of recent years, becoming an incredibly reliable figure for the club on the right-hand side of their defence, making 166 appearances in all competitions for Blackburn.

As a result, the Namibian is one of those whose contract situation will be a concern for Rovers, with his deal due to expire this summer, not least with his value having risen to £1.8million during his time at the club, enough to earn him sixth position here.

Gallagher’s first appearance for Rovers actually came back at the start of a loan spell with the club in the 2016/17 season, when he was valued at £450,000.

The striker then returned to the club from Southampton on a permanent basis at the start of last season, where he has since scored 14 goals in 79 appearances in total, albeit while being largely used in a wider role by manager Tony Mowbray.

There have however been promising performances, not least in the recent win over Derby, and that has seen Gallagher’s value rise to £2.25million, an increase of £1.8million, putting him in fifth place here.

Another Blackburn youth graduate who claims a place on this list having not originally had a market value when he made his debut for the club – back in April 2015 in this case – is Darragh Lenihan.

Over the past few years, Lenihan has gone on to become a more regular feature than any other in Rovers’ back four, which has seen him often wear the captain’s armband in the past couple of seasons, and he recently passed the milestone of 200 appearances in all competitions for the club.

That has seen the Republic of Ireland international’s value rise to £2.25million, which is enough to put him fourth in these standings.

You feel that Bradley Dack would be even further up this list, and his rise in value even greater, were it not for the injuries that have kept him out for the vast majority of the last 16 months.

Having joined Rovers from Gillingham in the summer of 2017, Dack played a key role in helping the club win an immediate promotion back to the Championship, and then in re-establishing themselves back in the second-tier the following campaign.

Despite those ACL problems that have blighted him since then, the attacker still has 49 goals and 22 assists in 131 games for the club, while his market value has climbed from £900,000 to £5.4million since his Rovers debut in August 2017 an increase that puts him third in these standings.

In what has largely ended up a season of frustration for Blackburn, the performances of Harvey Elliott have been an undoubted positive.

During his on loan with Rovers from Liverpool this season, Elliott has scored six goals and provided 11 assists in 37 league games for the club, and Tony Mowbray’s side would certainly be in a trickier position than they are without the contributions of the 18-year-old.

That has seen Elliott’s value in by almost £10million – from £3.6million to £13.5million – during his campaign with Rovers, earning him second place on this list, and highlighting just how big a success this move has been.

It is probably little surprise to see that Adam Armstrong is the man who sits top of this list.

The striker first made his debut for Rovers on loan from Newcastle in January 2018, and after helping them to League One promotion that season, made his move permanent that summer, and has emerged as a key goalscoring figure for Blackburn in Dack’s injury-enforced absence over the past year-and-a-half.

In total, Armstrong has scored 57 goals in 156 appearances for Rovers at the time of writing, and with Premier League clubs not surprisingly being linked with the 24-year-old, those at Ewood Park will be glad there is at least one year remaining on his Ewood Park contract, with his value having risen by £13.05million, from £1.35million to £14.4million during his time with the Lancashire club.

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