Academy & U21s

[bluebruce]

On 17/11/2025 at 14:10, ... said:

Sorry if this has already been mentioned

https://blackburnroversfc.co.uk/news/2025/november/17/-it-s-a-very-attractive-club-and-the-pathway-is-there-/browse

I think this is a super appointment 

Link won't work for me

[...]

2 minutes ago, bluebruce said:

Link won't work for me

Rovers app mate

[KentExile]

9 minutes ago, bluebruce said:

Link won't work for me

 

6 minutes ago, ... said:

Rovers app mate

https://www.rovers.co.uk/news/2025/november/17/-it-s-a-very-attractive-club-and-the-pathway-is-there-/

[KentExile]

https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/25630051.blackburn-rovers-transfer-battle-vs-premier-league-vultures/

 

Blackburn Rovers are continuing to face a fight to retain their hottest Academy talents with admiring glances from the Premier League.

Rovers' youth set up is famed in English football, with Adam Wharton the most recent high-profile player to emerge from the Brockhall Senior Training Centre.

Retaining talent to ensure they can graduate to the first-team has been a tough challenge. Igor Tyjon is currently stalling on his first professional deal whilst the club recently lost Rory Finneran. Tottenham eventually got Ash Phillips after years of interest.

Head of Academy, Paul Gray, has conceded that remains the club's toughest challenge.

"It's a huge challenge. You've seen recently that we've managed to keep players like Adam Wharton for a good few years," Gray told RoversTV.

"I think he signed two or three contracts before leaving to go to Crystal Palace and obviously the club got the rewards with the transfer fee that they got for Adam and the future payments that we could also get.

"But then on the flip side, we lost Rory (Finneran) at the age of 16 to Newcastle, which was a real tough one to take after he'd been with us since the age of eight. But it's hard. We've got huge Premier League clubs with huge, huge budgets.

"It's tough and it's starting to go younger down. The scout lists for our games are extremely long. We're getting offers of compensation for players as young as 11.

"We managed to keep some of them. There are others that we don't manage to keep and some that move on. But we've just got to keep doing what we're doing, selling our environment, showing people that there's a pathway at this football club.

"You're then hoping that the parents and the players can see the light at the end of the tunnel here rather than maybe going for the bright lights elsewhere."Igor Tyjon battles for possession (Image: CameraSport - Lee Parker)

The arrival of Jordan Rhodes as Loan Manager has seen a shift in approach. Rovers are now pushing to field younger Under-21 teams and allow those at the top of the age range to find move in the pyramid for experience.

"The most important thing is getting players into the first team," Gray said.

"It's about the individual development of the players. So I think we're now seeing Kristi have his breakthrough season, so that's really good for us.

"In the last few games, he's come on as a substitute. He's had a real impact in a few games now.

"In terms of the 21s and the 18s, you'll notice that we're quite young. With Jordan Rhodes coming in now, we've got a loan strategy, so we don't want 20, 21-year-olds playing in the under-21s, really.

"We'd rather be playing 16, 17, 18-year-olds in the Under-21s. That's the strategy. We want to be quite young in the under-21s."

Ex-Rovers player Josh Morris has spent some time working in the Academy recently. He is working with the Under-15 group, as Matt Derbyshire did previously having come through the ranks at Ewood Park.

"Josh has just come back in and he is working with our Under-15s now and again," he explained.

"So he's just another one who's been here as a young player. He's seen it, he's done it. He's then moved away and he's had a really good career in football.

"So, yes, he's back and he's at the start of his coaching journey. But, yes, he's done a really good job so far."

Edited 2 hours ago by KentExile