"This feels very fair" - Blackburn Rovers demands as Stoke and Coventry circle: The verdict | OneFootball

This article is part of Football League World's 'The Verdict' series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Having already lost Ben Brereton Diaz this summer, over the weekend, the potential of Blackburn Rovers losing another forward this summer was revealed as a possibility.

Indeed, that is the case according to Alan Nixon via Patreon, who reports that both Stoke City and Coventry City are interested in the forward this summer.

Nixon does state, however, that neither club are willing to meet Blackburn Rovers' current asking price.

Rovers are reported to be willing to sell Gallagher, but only if the price is right, which to them, is a reported £5 million.

In the latest update on Gallagher, Coventry Live have claimed that the forward is not currently on Coventry's radar.

Whether or not this was due to them being unwilling to meet Blackburn's valuation is unknown.

Is Blackburn Rovers' valuation of Sam Gallagher fair?

With the above in mind, here at FLW, we have discussed below whether or not we believe Blackburn's valuation of their forward is a fair one, and whether the club's linked should be willing to pay such a fee.

Simmey Hannifin-Donaldson

If I were Coventry, Stoke City or any other linked club this summer, there is no chance that I would be paying £5 million for Sam Gallagher.

That is no disrespect to Gallagher, who certainly has his merits at Championship level, but £5 million is a significant fee for clubs at this level, particularly for a striker that isn't prolific.

The 27-year-old scored just eight league goals in the 2022/23 campaign, for example, and just nine in 2021/22.

In fact, in six seasons of playing regular Championship football, Gallagher has hit double figures just once - when he scored 11 for Blackburn in 2016/17.

Furthermore, Gallagher only currently has one-year left on his contract. Blackburn reportedly hold an option to extend this by a further year, but still, even with two-years left on his current deal, his value would be affected.

All in all, I can understand why Blackburn have placed such a valuation on him, though.

They want to keep their player unless they get a really good offer and you cannot blame them for that - particularly having lost Ben Brereton-Diaz earlier this summer.

Alfie Burns

It's a fair valuation in my eyes.

Gallagher's last five seasons in the Championship have seen him score 42 goals, averaging out at over eight per season. Let's say that figure was doubled to 16, we'd have no problem sitting here and debating a £10m fee for the player. So, his value is probably around the £5m mark quite fairly.

A couple of other factors contribute to that, like Gallagher's age at 27-years-old. He is heading into his peak years and that is something that's going to drive a valuation up. Furthermore, Blackburn aren't under any selling pressure when it comes to his contract with two years effectively remaining on that; January and next summer will offer better opportunities for a cut-price deal.

Blackburn also have a potential bidding war on their hands, which makes their bargaining position stronger. With Stoke and Coventry loosely linked, it'll only take one bid to lure another one until a valuation is met.