Blackburn Rovers can find new Sammie Szmodics after wildcard deal: View | OneFootball

The Japanese striker has been superb since joining Rovers in the summer, and has been able to fill the void left by Szmodics.

The 2024/25 campaign might have been one that Blackburn Rovers fans feared as they went into it.

However, after the first six games of the season, John Eustace's side are currently sat fourth in the table, unbeaten, and they have scored the second most goals (12), behind Burnley and Sunderland (13) in the division.

Rovers survived on the final day of the 2023/24 season thanks to a Sammie Szmodics double against Leicester City, a result that now looks to have been a catalyst for the new campaign.

However, they have had to deal with finding a way round losing their top scorer, following the 28-year-old's move to recently promoted Premier League club Ipswich Town for £11 million including add-ons just after Blackburn's opening night 4-2 win over Derby County.

Szmodics left supporters with a parting gift of a goal against the Rams as well as a brace in the Carabao Cup first round, as the Lancashire-based side eased past Stockport County in a 6-1 win.

One of the other goalscorers in both of those clashes was new signing Yuki Ohashi, who has already made an impact at Ewood Park, and he already looks to be the perfect replacement for the former Peterborough United star.

Ohashi's performances are making Szmodics loss easier

The summer ahead of the 2024/25 campaign was a huge one for Blackburn, but it was a slow burner, and it took until the end of July for the squad to start taking shape.

Ohashi was signed from Japanese club Sanfrecce Hiroshima for a six-figure fee, as per the Lancashire Telegraph, and he is already starting to look like a real coup.

The 28-year-old has already scored four goals in his first six league appearances in blue-and-white, while picking up another goal and an assist in the cup.

He has bedded in exceptionally well, a difficult task for a player coming from overseas, and the fears of missing Szmodics have quickly been alleviated.

The now current Ipswich attacker found the back of the net 27 times in the Championship last season, however, Ohashi has matched his tally for the first six matches, while the rest of the team has also pitched in more than they did this time last year.

Hitting the ground running was something that the Japanese star had to do to prevent fans from getting on top of him, and he has shown in his first month-and-a-half how valuable he will be to the team in the future.

Eustace's tactics have minimised Szmodics loss

Losing Szmodics seemed inevitable in the summer, and Eustace had to adjust his tactics to fit following the loss, but it is something that he seems to have nailed so far.

The former Birmingham City manager has reverted back to the 4-2-3-1 formation that worked brilliantly during his time at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park, placing Tyrhys Dolan in the number 10 role.

It has allowed Ohashi the freedom to act as the sole number nine, a position that he relishes playing in.

The void left by Szmodics leaving could have been a difficult one to fill, but Blackburn's new Japanese star looks to be one of the signings of the summer, and he could be propelling the team to a shock play-off push.