Ipswich Town transfer move could impact potential Blackburn Rovers exit: View | OneFootball

One striker's future at Ewood Park is very much up in the air this summer

Those at Blackburn Rovers will hope that there is a fair amount of activity around the club during this summer's transfer window.

After only avoiding relegation from the Championship on the final day of last season, there is a clear need to strengthen the squad at Ewood Park this summer.

If they do not do that, then there is a risk that John Eustace's side will endure another difficult campaign in the second-tier.

It may be the case that the departures of certain players will be needed to bring in funds for potential signings, and several individuals now find themselves facing uncertain futures at Ewood Park.

One such player who currently finds himself in that particular position at Blackburn, is Sam Gallagher.

Striker's contract at Ewood Park is running down

At the end of the 2023/24 campaign, it was confirmed that Rovers had triggered the option in Gallagher's contract, to extend his deal by a further 12 months.

As a result, the striker's future at the club is now secure until the end of the coming campaign. That though, means that this summer could the Lancashire outfit's last chance to cash in on him.

Throughout his time at Ewood Park, the 28-year-old has struggled to find the net as regularly as Blackburn would have wanted a striker to do.

Gallagher is also among the club's highest earners, and those two issues combined may mean that the club may feel now is the right time for the two parties to go their seperate ways.

However, it could be argued that another club's transfer plans, could impact any chances of a potential Ewood Park exit for the striker in the next few months.

Ipswich Town have alternative to Blackburn Rovers man

Back in January, Ipswich Town showed a keen interest in completing a deal to bring Gallagher from Ewood Park to Portman Road.

In the end though, no deal would materialise, with Blackburn standing firm to keep the striker until the end of the season at least.

Since then, the Tractor Boys have won promotion from the Championship to the Premier League, though it has been reported that they are still interested in a potential move for Gallagher.

Given Ipswich now have Premier League funds available to spend, Rovers may be hoping they can use their interest in Gallagher to generate a decent fee to help them in the transfer market.

But it seems as though those in charge at Portman Road, may have other transfer plans that could impact Blackburn's hopes of earning such a windfall.

According to reports elsewhere, Ipswich have already made a €25million for Panathanikos striker Fotis Ioannidis as they look to boost their attacking options this summer.

Ioannidis scored 23 goals in 44 appearances for his current club last season, helping them to finish fourth in the top-flight, and win the Greek Cup.

Meanwhile, Manchester City's Liam Delap, who impressed on loan in the Championship with Hull City last season, and Sassuolo's Andrea Pinamonti, have also been identified as potential targets.

As a result, it is evident that Gallagher is far from the only centre forward option Ipswich are looking at this summer, as they look to boost their options in that position.

Indeed, given those players have more recent top-flight pedigree, and stronger goalscoring records than Gallagher last season, it could be argued that they are more appealing targets for Ipswich.

It could also be argued that it would cost more for the Tractor Boys to get a deal done for one of those individuals, as has already been highlighted by the size of their bid for Ioannidis.

So if one of those potential signings was to happen, those in charge at Portman Road may then be reluctant to spend more money on another striker such as Gallagher, when they have other positions to strengthen as well.

With options such as George Hirst, Nathan Broadhead and Ali Al-Hamadi currently on the books, it could certainly be argued that beyond that one extra addition, a grand overhaul of the centre forward options is not currently needed.

That in turn, would further reduce the incentive for Ipswich to go out and get Gallagher from Ewood Park, if they did sign one of those other targets.

So it seems that as Blackburn weigh-up a potential windfall on Gallagher from Ipswich's promotion, they may need to keep an eye on some of the Tractor Boys; links with other potential targets.