Blackburn Rovers will hope to emulate Sammie Szmodics deal by landing exciting EFL star | OneFootball

The Ewood Park club are looking to do more business with Peterborough United

With a total of nine new signings, Blackburn Rovers enjoyed a busy period in the 2024 summer transfer window.

Much of the emphasis within that recruitment was in attack, with Makhar Gueye, Yuki Ohashi, Todd Cantwell, Andi Weimann and Brighton loanee Amario Cozier-Duberry all added to the forward lines.

It seems though, that they are not done yet in terms of recruitment, with head coach John Eustace recently claiming his side are still a work in progress, and need to further add to their squad.

As a result, it may be another eventful transfer window come January for Blackburn, when it seems adding to the attack will once again be on the agenda at Ewood Park.

Kwame Poku linked with Championship move

According to recent reports from journalist Alan Nixon, Rovers are keen to sign Peterborough United winger Kwame Poku in the January transfer window.

The 23-year-old enjoyed an excellent campaign in League One last season, when he scored 11 goals and provided seven assists in 39 league outings.

He has continued to catch the eye during the current campaign, with seven goals and four assists already, in just 14 third-tier appearances.

As well as that impressive record for goal involvements, Poku would also add some welcome pace out wide to this Blackburn team.

Beyond that, the winger's contract at London Road is due to expire at the end of this season, which may make him a more affordable target come January.

As a result, this is certainly an appealing deal for Blackburn, not least because it would also give them a chance to replicate one of their most successful signings of recent times.

Blackburn Rovers will hope for Sammie Szmodics 2.0

The signing of Poku would of course, not be the only bit of business the Ewood Park club have done with Peterborough in recent times.

Back in the summer of 2022, Rovers completed the signing of Sammie Szmodics from Posh, for a fee said to be worth an initial £1.8million.

His first season at the club was a solid one, making himself a popular player with his work rate, and scoring some memorable goals in both league and cup.

That included one in a 2-1 FA Cup fifth round win over then Premier League side Leicester City at The King Power Stadium.

The following round then saw Szmodics put Blackburn 2-1 up at Sheffield United and within touching distance of a first trip to the new Wembley, before two late goals denied them that chance.

It was last season though, where the attacker really shone, enjoying the best season of his career by far, with 33 goals in all competitions.

In the process, Szmodics would claim the Championship Golden Boot, and became the first player since Alan Shearer in the 1990s to pass the 30-goal mark for Rovers in a single campaign.

That of course, proved all the more significant, given the struggles Blackburn endured over the course of the campaign, only avoiding relegation from the Championship on the final day.

Indeed, Szmodics' 27 league goals last season earned the Ewood Park club 16 points in the Championship, while they avoided relegation by only three.

Those numbers show just how important the Republic of Ireland international was to Rovers last season, given they would surely now be playing League One football were it not for him.

Given the promise Poku himself has shown in front of goal, Blackburn may believe that he could make a similar sort of impact, although they will hope it is not in another relegation battle.

Beyond that, Szmodics' departure this summer would make the club a tidy profit, with Ipswich Town reportedly paying an initial £9million for his services.

As well as representing an impressive profit, those funds no doubt helped Rovers when it came to adding to their squad this summer.

Given Poku is several years younger than Szmodics, he could be even more valuable to potential suitors in the future, given he could be a longer-term asset.

Consequently, if he was to move to Ewood Park in January and succeed there, the winger could bring in even more funds to strengthen the club further down the line, as well as aiding results first.