Blackburn Rovers should push to seal shrewd £1.75m Coventry City transfer | OneFootball

Rovers have been linked with a move for this Sky Blues frontman.

Blackburn Rovers could have found an effective and fairly cheap solution to their chase for a striker in the January window in the form of Coventry City’s Brandon Thomas-Asante.

It’s no secret that Rovers are on the hunt for a frontman this winter – they’ve already been linked with a move for Leeds United’s Patrick Bamford as well as a potential shock return move for Ben Brereton-Diaz.

Now though, according to Sky Sports, Blackburn have submitted a bid worth £1.75million for the Sky Blues’ Thomas-Asante.

The 26-year-old could prove to be a very shrewd piece of business for John Eustace’s side, as well as a being a more cost-effective option than some of their previous links.

Thomas-Asante could prove to be a very sensible signing for Blackburn

Although he has struggled for form so far at Coventry this season, Thomas-Asante has already proven himself to be more than capable in the Championship.

He’s spent the majority of the two previous seasons with West Bromwich Albion, after the Baggies picked him up from League Two Salford City for an undisclosed fee after just six games of the 2022/23 campaign.

The Ghanian striker instantly adapted to the level of the second tier, ending his debut season in the Championship with seven goals to his name from 33 games.

He went one better last time out though, finishing the 2023/24 campaign with 11 league goals and becoming one of Carlos Corberan’s key men.

The arrival of Josh Maja from French side Bordeaux last January meant Thomas-Asante was pushed down the pecking order a little, ultimately leading to his exit to Coventry last summer.

The 26-year-old made the switch across the Midlands for another undisclosed fee but has struggled for both form and gametime at the Coventry Building Society Arena.

He has just one league goal from 25 appearances this season, although only eight of those were starts.

A move away from Coventry and a fresh start in January could be exactly what he needs to get himself firing once again.

At potentially just £1.75m, Thomas-Asante would likely be significantly cheaper than a move for either Bamford or Brereton-Diaz, considering that both have been sat on Premier League contracts at several points over the last few seasons.

For that price, John Eustace would surely back himself to re-ignite a man who has already demonstrated that he has all the tools to be a very threatening Championship striker.

Blackburn desperately need goals

Eustace’s men have been one of the surprise stories in the Championship so far this season.

Rovers are currently sat just outside the play-off positions, despite many around the league having fairly low expectations for them at the start of the campaign.

However, if Blackburn are to secure a play-off finish, and with it a shot at a return to the promised land of the Premier League, it’s vital they strengthen effectively in January, particularly in their attacking areas.

Eustace’s side have scored just 28 league goals, fewer than every other team inside the Championship’s top half.

While that has been balanced out with a superb defensive record so far, you would imagine that it won’t be sustainable to take a play-off push right to the latter stages of the season with such little firepower.

Yuki Ohashi and Andreas Weimann (pcitured) are currently the only two players to have netted more than two league goals for Blackburn so far this term.

With that in mind, a move for Thomas-Asante could quietly turn out to be a sensible piece of business.

Thomas-Asante’s pace has always made him a threat at any level of football, and if he can re-discover the goalscoring form that made him such an impressive talent at West Brom, Blackburn could be onto a bargain.

For a fee of less than £2million, it’s fair to say he is probably a gamble worth taking for Rovers. And, considering he’s still only 26, if Thomas-Asante starts finding the net again regularly, his resale value will likely still be high enough for Blackburn to make a profit on their initial investment.