Blackburn Rovers: League One transfer interest emerges in forward | OneFootball

Rovers are looking for the young forward to gain some extra experience in the second half of the season

Blackburn Rovers are open to loan offers for young striker Harry Leonard, and have received some interest from League One clubs, according to reports.

The report comes from journalist Darren Witcoop, who revealed what the Championship outfit are planning for the next phase of the young prospect’s development.

Leonard has not played anywhere but Blackburn since joining the Lancashire club as a child, but has made a substantial number of senior appearances for Rovers over the last few seasons.

But it seems his parent club feel he’d be better off getting regular minutes elsewhere in the second half of the season, and there are third-tier clubs interested, according to Witcoop’s report.

The 21-year-old is not the typical case of needing a loan move to transition from academy football to the senior game; he’s already made significant strides towards that goal.

Leonard has already amassed 29 Championship appearances for the club, scoring four goals and assisting two more.

This, then, is a young striker capable of playing second-tier football, but Blackburn clearly feel the best course of action for his development in this latter part of the campaign would be a loan to gain regular minutes.

With League One clubs interested, as per Witcoop’s report, it looks like the player will have no issue achieving that goal, should he leave Ewood Park temporarily.

Injury has stunted Harry Leonard’s Blackburn Rovers progress

Another reason for Rovers wanting to get Leonard out on loan perhaps lies in his injury record since breaking through to the first team.

Last term will go down as his breakout season with 19 Championship outings, three goals and two assists.

It’s an impressive start, but is even more impressive when considering he was restricted to the first half of the season, succumbing to a back injury, which ended his season in January last year.

It seemed he had done enough to get back to fitness ahead of pre-season this term, but an ‘awkward fall’ resulted in a dislocated shoulder, requiring surgery, which he has only just returned from in recent weeks.

League One club could benefit from Harry Leonard's misfortune

Were it not for those two unfortunate injuries, Leonard looked set to be fighting for a place in Blackburn’s starting XI, but those setbacks have stunted his progression somewhat.

With two unnamed League One clubs asking for Leonard, as per Witcoop’s report, any successful party will land a striker with Championship quality who just needs a platform to kick his career back into life.

The temporary nature of the deal will also remove much of the financial risk from the loanee club, so it should provide Leonard with a free hit to prove what he can do.

Had things gone differently, we might be looking at a Leonard who reached double figures in the Championship last season and kicked on again this term, but injuries mean that a third-tier side may now get the opportunity to have that same striker through the doors for a few months, while also helping get his career back on track following those setbacks.