Blackburn Rovers played a trump card with Sammie Szmodics - is it the club's best in recent times? | OneFootball

Attacking midfielder Sammie Szmodics had a superb two years with Blackburn Rovers, but is he their best signing in recent times?

Midfield creator Sammie Szmodics left Blackburn Rovers over the summer, joining Premier League new boys Ipswich Town for a fee of £9m plus potential add-ons further down the line.

The 29-year-old Republic of Ireland international's two seasons at Ewood Park prior to the move, however, will live long in the memory as the Colchester-born man dazzled in Lancashire.

Coming through the youth ranks with hometown club Colchester United, Szmodics made his debut for the U's in 2013, going on to make 162 appearnces for the club in all competitions, scoring 38 goals over the next six years, while also having a brief loan spell with non-league Braintree Town during the 2015/16 campaign.

The diminutive attacking midfielder made a name for himself in the lower half of the EFL, impressing Championship side Bristol City enough for the Robins to pay an undisclosed fee to bring a 23-year-old Szmodics to Ashton Gate in 2019.

Struggling to settle at his new club and making just a handful of appearances for City, the midfield player joined League One Peterborough United, initially on a six-month loan, before making the move permanent ahead of the 2020/21 season.

Szmodics excelled with the Posh, helping them to promotion to the second-tier in his first full campaign with the club, making just under 100 appearances in total over two personally-successful years at London Road.

While Peterborough were quickly relegated back to League One, Szmodics remained in the Championship, joining Blackburn Rovers for an undisclosed fee in the summer of 2022.

With then Rovers boss Jon Dahl Tomasson playing an attractive, possession-based style, the creative talent slotted straight in, his consistent, classy performances earning him a place in the EFL Championship Team of the Season, and the club's Player of the Year award at the end of his first year.

While the following campaign was a difficult one for the Ewood Park club, one that saw Tomasson replaced by John Eustace in the dugout, Szmodics was in great form on a personal level, ending the season as the divisions top scorer with 27 goals.

As well as prompting his national team debut, his form and ability saw him become a transfer target for other clubs over the summer, with the now experienced Szmodics signed for Kieran McKenna's Tractor Boys after they pounced to give the midfielder an opportunity in the top-flight just before his 29th birthday.

The £9m-plus Rovers received for the player is a very tidy profit on someone they signed for considerably less just two years earlier, and combined with his form on the pitch in those 24 months, Szmodics was a fantastic bit of business for Blackburn. But was he their best acquisition in recent times?

Szmodics, Dack and Brereton Diaz have been superb Blackburn signings over the last decade

In terms of value-for-money, contribution and profit made, Szmodics is right up there as far as top Blackburn signings over the last ten years or so.

Competing with him for that mantle is fellow attacking midfield player Bradley Dack, who spent six very productive years at Ewood Park between 2017 and 2023, scoring 57 goals in 173 appearances for the club, while providing 28 assists.

Another that has shone in a blue and white shirt in recent years is Chile international striker Ben Brereton Diaz, who spent four prolific seasons with Rovers after making a loan spell from Nottingham Forest permanent in 2019.

Having since played for Spanish side Villareal, as well as Sheffield United and now Southampton, Brereton Diaz was one of Blackburn's main attacking threats between 2019 and 2023, scoring 47 goals in 177 appearances for the Lancashire outfit in that time.

While others such as fellow strikers Adam Armstrong and Sam Gallagher, along with full-back Harry Pickering have made notable contributions in a Rovers shirt, it's the previously mentioned trio that stand out as the club's top signings of the modern era.

Judging a 'top' signing is always subjective. Everyone has their own favourites and opinions, for differing reasons, while many variables also come into play.

When considering everything, however, Szmodics takes the crown as Blackburn's best recent piece of transfer business.

Dack was quite brilliant in a Rovers shirt, and the longevity of his spell with the club adds to his case. However, injuries have always plagued the 30-year-old, who is now back at first club Gillingham, meaning he wasn't available on a consistent basis.

Blackburn also never saw any resale value for the midfielder either, who was released on a free transfer in 2023.

Brereton Diaz was a superb all-round forward for the club over a four-year period in which he led the line well and scored regularly.

However, his goals-to-games ratio doesn't match that of Szmodics, who usually operated in a slightly deeper role, and the Chilean didn't have the overall impact on the side that the Irishman did.

Again, Rovers didn't see any financial return on Brereton Diaz's departure either, as he headed to Spain on a free transfer last year after letting his contract run down.

By comparison, Szmodics offered more on the pitch over a shorter period of time than the aforementioned duo, while also netting the club a handsome profit upon departing, marking him out as Blackburn's top signing of recent times.