Blackburn Rovers closing in on £2m transfer for ex-Leicester City midfielder | OneFootball

Blackburn Rovers are closing in on a £2 million move for Moreirense midfielder Sidnei Tavares, according to reports.

As they look to build towards a promotion challenge next season, Blackburn Rovers are reportedly closing in on a move former Leicester City midfielder Sidnei Tavares from Portuguese outfit Moreirense.

Rovers, now under the management of former Barnsley and West Bromwich Albion boss Valerian Ismael, have already brought in someone from the continent this summer in Dion De Neve, who joined from Kortrijk for an undisclosed fee a couple of weeks ago.

Having narrowly missed out on a top six finish and a play-off berth in the Championship on the final day of the season last month, the Lancastrians are seeking to reconstruct their squad to best suit the methods and style of Ismael.

Now, having already spent money on De Neve, it has been suggested that they are plotting another substantial move from abroad in the form of Tavares.

Blackburn Rovers looking to close 7-figure Sidnei Tavares move

According to Alan Nixon, via his Patreon, Blackburn are seemingly closing in on the signing of Tavares for a fee of up to £2 million from Portuguese Primeira Liga outfit Moreirense.

Nixon has reported that Tavares, a relative of former Manchester United winger Nani, wants to make an impact in England, having come through the academy at Leicester City.

The 23-year-old is described as a ‘significant capture’ by Nixon and he forms a part of their plan to look abroad for value for money, although they had to go a bit higher in cost in order to land the Portuguese midfielder.

Tavares came through at Leicester before playing for a few years in Porto’s B team, with that spell also including a loan stint in Major League Soccer with the Colorado Rapids - he moved to Moreirense on a permanent basis in the summer of 2024, and played 33 times for them last season in the middle of the park.

Cascais-born Tavares has represented Portugal at both U18 and U19 level but is also eligible to play for the Cape Verde national team. Whilst with Leicester, he did make a couple of appearances in the Premier League during the 2020/21 campaign.

Sidnei Tavares will form part of Valerien Ismael's Blackburn Rovers rebuild

Valerian Ismael replaced John Eustace in mid-March and endured a tricky start to his time at Ewood Park but they finished the season well and may well have convinced the club’s hierarchy and supporters to back him for a promotion challenge next year.

Ismael has become known for his fairly extreme style of football with an almost ridiculous level of directness in a more or less exclusive 3-4-3 system before his time at Blackburn, although he chose to operate with a 4-2-3-1 last season in his 12 matches in charge.

The signing of De Neve falls into Ismael’s philosophy with the Belgian capable of operating at both wing-back as well as an out and out winger, whilst Tavares falls into the category of an all-action box-to-box midfielder, which is imperative for the back-to-front style of football that Ismael implements.

Blackburn have missed out on the play-offs on the final day of two of the last three seasons, and there will be a desperation to go a step further in the 2025/26 Championship campaign - Tavares will nicely bolster their midfield options if a deal can get done.