The January 2026 Transfer Window

[roverandout]

I'd take colby Bishop in a heart beat 

[roverandout]

6 minutes ago, Tom said:

Longer than that, he’ll be back in 3 weeks or so 

Is he banned?

[rigger]

16 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

Ismael specifically said that we wanted a left footed centre back, hence signing Cashin.

I dont know why.

Probably because Ismael knew Cashin was going to be signed, and he didn't want to look stupid.

[KentExile]

1 hour ago, roversfan99 said:

Ismael specifically said that we wanted a left footed centre back, hence signing Cashin.

I dont know why.

I can only assume that they mistakenly think that McLoughlin is capable cover/competition for Wharton in the middle, and that they already had Miller & O'Riordan (and Carter should he ever be fit) for the right, so they wanted someone to compete with Pratt on the left

Personally, I would have gone for someone who could play in the middle, and have McLoughlin competing with Pratt on the left (Pratt would win hands down for me, but it now feels like he will struggle for game time as they will have assured Brighton that Cashin will play no matter what)

Edited yesterday at 20:50 by KentExile

[Torgeir]

Pratt and McLoughlin don't have a good pass unfortunately. Hopefully Cashin is better in that regard. 

Still should be back of the queue, there are other areas on the pitch where we are severely lacking in quality.

[AspRover]

Isn't Colby Bishop a kind of cheese?

[Rogerb]

54 minutes ago, AspRover said:

Isn't Colby Bishop a kind of cheese?

That's a Stinking Bishop

[Upside Down]

6 hours ago, Rogerb said:

That's a Stinking Bishop

Different kind of cheese you're thinking of there.

[joey_big_nose]

15 hours ago, davulsukur said:

The only positive about that interview is that Gudjohnsen, Mori and Forshaw are all about 2 weeks away from a return.

Also we are nearly out of the mad run of games so we might be able to keep them fit. Plus Alebiouso back.

Theoretically if we got all of them back we'd be back to an okay starting XI except for left wing back. I would like to see Powell get a go as its patently clear Riberio and Pickering just dont have the engine for it, and De Neve is a total defensive liability.

[joey_big_nose]

22 hours ago, RevidgeBlue said:

Is he really pissed off?

Edit: Or will he conveniently forget what he said about wanting  signings in early and bat on regardless?

I dont know of course, but my money would be on the latter.

 

He would be pissed off if he had got good results and attracted suitors like Eustace and JDT but as he hasn't and no one would touch him with a barge pole at the moment he cant afford to be pissed off.

How amenable the managers are to the bizarre way the heirachy run the club is directly linked to how well they are doing. The better they do, the more they look to leave as they have options.

[davulsukur]

38 minutes ago, joey_big_nose said:

Also we are nearly out of the mad run of games so we might be able to keep them fit. Plus Alebiouso back.

Theoretically if we got all of them back we'd be back to an okay starting XI except for left wing back. I would like to see Powell get a go as its patently clear Riberio and Pickering just dont have the engine for it, and De Neve is a total defensive liability.

Might as well start Powell tomorrow, we're already playing Championship opposition, be a good test for him.

[davulsukur]

I seem to remember seeing Leo Castledine's name mentioned a few pages back, he's signed for Boro for £1m.

Being touted as really good business for them.

[KentExile]

5 minutes ago, davulsukur said:

I seem to remember seeing Leo Castledine's name mentioned a few pages back, he's signed for Boro for £1m.

Being touted as really good business for them.

Unfortunately even if Rovers had the fee, our self imposed wage ceiling rules us out

They can do all of the pr pre window advanced planning that they like, but if our targets are pure fantasy (based on the money we offer), then that planning does us no good whatsoever

Edited 9 hours ago by KentExile

[RoverCanada]

Checking our stats with 3 vs 4 at the back, via football reference (https://fbref.com/en/squads/e090f40b/2025-2026/matchlogs/c10/schedule/Blackburn-Rovers-Scores-and-Fixtures-Championship)

4 at the back

8 GP 2 W 1 D 5 L = 7 PTS in 8 GP (40 PTS pace).

0.88 GF/GP 1.38 GA/GP (-0.5 GD/GP)

1.31 xGF/GP 1.16 xGA/GP (+0.15 xGD/GP)

Possession: 49.5%

3 at the back

17 GP 5 W 6 D 6 L = 21 PTS in 17 GP (57 PTS pace)

1.00 GF/GP 1.12 GA/GP (-0.12 GD/GP)

1.35 xGF/GP 1.02 xGA/GP (+0.32 xGD/GP)

Possession: 49.9%

So, it has been the difference between relegation vs mid-table pace, plus better 'real' and 'expected' goal results.

Also lost 2-1 to Bradford in the EFL Cup with 4 at the back.

[simongarnerisgod]

1 hour ago, KentExile said:

Unfortunately even if Rovers had the fee, our self imposed wage ceiling rules us out

They can do all of the pr pre window advanced planning that they like, but if our targets are pure fantasy (based on the money we offer), then that planning does us no good whatsoever

if we ar`nt going to compete for players who are going to make an impact at championship level,then you might as well just accept relegation

[USABlue]

On 09/01/2026 at 05:10, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

I never saw any evidence of a “ phenomenal workmate “ when he was here. In fact the lack of effort was my main criticism of him. Maybe he was struggling with niggling injuries ?

I.thought he put a.shift.in, I liked Leonard.  Are you sure you are not thinking of Vale? 

[roversfan99]

Youan starting for Hibs as normal. I think that rumour was unfounded.

[BankEnd Rover]

Youan would be incredibly stupid if he came to us in this window or if in any transfer window

Why move to a club in free fall on and off the pitch when he can carry on playing where he is, find the form he can show and get a free move in summer. 

[neophox]

Where's the money from Wharton and Raya sales? (Raya to Arsenal)

[Tomphil2]

4 minutes ago, neophox said:

Where's the money from Wharton and Raya sales? (Raya to Arsenal)

Wages and bills because our benevolent billionaire (and club in line with FFP) owners are no longer benefactors, apparently.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

2 hours ago, USABlue said:

I.thought he put a.shift.in, I liked Leonard.  Are you sure you are not thinking of Vale? 

I don’t think either of them were particularly mobile, Vale especially.

[neophox]

Tawanda Maswanhise , done well at Motherwell since his move from Leicester. Only 23 years. Knows how to score goals.

[Wing Wizard Windy Miller]

3 hours ago, KentExile said:

Unfortunately even if Rovers had the fee, our self imposed wage ceiling rules us out

They can do all of the pr pre window advanced planning that they like, but if our targets are pure fantasy (based on the money we offer), then that planning does us no good whatsoever

You have to applaud the business model our owners/board  are applying. 

It's been clear for quite a while, that the plan - given the fuss made over academy funding - is to downgrade the squad and fill the first team with academy players. They are on cheap salaries and any transfer  money received for them will show as a straight profit.  

Now most Roers fans would be up in arms about that and rightly so.  

The solution?

Reduce the salary level and target unproven, cheap players from Europe/UK 

The result?  

These players are so poor that fans are now happy they are being replaced by academy players - as they can't be any worse. 

It's evil genius, I tell ya. 

Edited 6 hours ago by Wing Wizard Windy Miller

[KentExile]

Harry Leonard with another goal contribution

 

[Tomphil2]

1 hour ago, Wing Wizard Windy Miller said:

You have to applaud the business model our owners/board  are applying. 

It's been clear for quite a while, that the plan - given the fuss made over academy funding - is to downgrade the squad and fill the first team with academy players. They are on cheap salaries and any transfer  money received for them will show as a straight profit.  

Now most Roers fans would be up in arms about that and rightly so.  

The solution?

Reduce the salary level and target unproven, cheap players from Europe/UK 

The result?  

These players are so poor that fans are now happy they are being replaced by academy players - as they can't be any worse. 

It's evil genius, I tell ya. 

I actually saw some comments from other clubs fans on a Rovers article recently and one of them - think it was an Arsenal fan actually - said..

It looks like Venkys were totally clueless owners who made a mess of everything they've tried and had no idea how to rebuild it.  So then decided to go the managed decline route and reduce the club and its expectations to a level they are capable of running.

We obviously haven't even reached that level of capability yet.