Rhodes features: 3 August transfers Blackburn Rovers will want to emulate before Deadline Day | OneFootball

John Eustace's side could benefit from replicating the success of some of these previous August signings

Highlights

So far, the transfer business done by Blackburn Rovers this summer has looked rather promising.

The players brought into Ewood Park since the end of last season have all already made a positive impact for the club.

However, there is still work to do before the window closes in late August, if head coach John Eustace is to have a full-strength squad available to him for the duration of the campaign.

A number of positions still need strengthening, and Blackburn will hope they can have success in doing so, as they have done with some other signings they have previously made at this time of year.

So with that in mind, we've taken a look at three previous signings the club have made in August whose impact at Ewood Park they will hope further additions made this month will be replicate.

Jordan Rhodes

Big money signings may not always pay-off, but the club record equaling £8million fee invested in Jordan Rhodes certainly did.

The Scot arrived from Huddersfield Town on 30th August 2012, just a few months after Blackburn had been relegated from the Premier League to the Championship.

There was a hope the centre-forward could replicate the prolific form he showed during his time with the Terriers, and he would certainly do that.

In all three full seasons he spent at Ewood Park, Rhodes scored more than 20 league goals, a rare feat among those to have been on the books at Rovers.

His goalscoring exploits made him a popular figure at Blackburn, and were even more impressive given the club were never really in contention for automatic promotion while he was there.

He was then sold to Middlesbrough in January 2016 for a reported £9million, ensuring Rovers also made a slight profit on their investment here.

Thomas Kaminski

Admittedly, pandemic-enforced changes to the calendar meant it was relatively early in the summer window when Thomas Kaminski arrived at Ewood Park from Gent on 26th August 2020.

Even so, this is still one transfer that those connected with Blackburn will undoubtedly be keen to see repeated in the next few weeks.

The Belgian is one of the most reliable goalkeepers the club have had in years, both with his shot-stopping, and command of his area.

His connection to the club also made him well-liked among the fanbase, and it was no surprise to see him earn a move to the Premier League when he left for Luton Town last summer.

Meanwhile, his replacement, Leo Wahlstedt, was sold earlier this summer after just a single season at the club.

That, of course, means a new goalkeeper, preferably of the same standard as Kaminski, is badly needed at Blackburn before the window closes later in August.

Sammie Szmodics

One August signing who is still making an impact for Rovers at the time of writing, is Sammie Szmodics.

It was a reasonably steady first season for the Irishman at Ewood Park after he joined from Peterborough United on 1st August 2022.

Last season, however, the attacking midfielder went to new heights completely. His 27 league goals not only won him the Championship Golden Boot, but almost single-handedly kept Rovers up.

That has led to plenty of speculation around his future.

Blackburn, though, will be desperate to keep Szmodics, while also hoping that any new signings made before the end of August stand up to be counted this season, in the same way as the 28-year-old did in the previous campaign.