Forget Sammie Szmodics: Blackburn Rovers may regret double transfer exit | OneFootball

Two Rovers players are finding game time hard to come by while out on loan

There can be no doubting who the highest profile departure from Blackburn Rovers was during this summer's transfer window.

Having won the Championship Golden Boot to save the club from relegation to League One, Sammie Szmodics was always going to attract interest from elsewhere.

Indeed, few could begrudge the Republic of Ireland international his move to newly-promoted Premier League side Ipswich Town for a reported £11million.

However, Szmodics was of course, far from the only one to leave Blackburn in that period, with others also moving on.

Of course, in some cases those exits are temporary, with loan deals sanctioned for certain players, who may have benefitted from a stint elsewhere.

Jake Garrett and Connor O'Riordan loaned out in the summer

The two most senior members of the squad at Ewood Park to be loaned out during the summer window, were Jake Garrett and Connor O'Riordan.

Both players have since found themselves in League One on season-long loan deals, with Bristol Rovers and Cambridge United respectively.

Garrett has already made 41 first-team appearances for Blackburn, but those have never come on a consistent and regular basis.

That seemed to show as the midfielder struggled to maintain performance levels when called upon last season.

As a result, a loan move with the view to playing regularly in order to build momentum and unlock the potential and talent he undoubtedly possesses, did seem a good move.

O'Riordan meanwhile, made just two substitute appearances for Blackburn in the second-half of last season, after joining from League Two side Crewe Alexandra in January.

He too therefore, looked like being a player who needed a temporary spell elsewhere, to get more game time under his belt.

So far though, those at Ewood Park may be rather concerned by how things are going for the duo out on loan in the third-tier.

Loanees not getting the game time Blackburn would want

In the case of both loanees, they have likely not played as many minutes for their loan sides, as they would have hoped to.

So far, Garrett has featured in eight of the 15 competitive matches across all competitions that Bristol Rovers have played since he moved to The Memorial Stadium.

Six of those outings have been as a starter, and so the midfielder has not made himself the regular presence for the Gas that Blackburn would have expected, with his pedigree at a higher level.

Indeed, the last time he completed 90 minutes for the League One side was in a 4-0 defeat to League Two strugglers Swindon Town in the EFL Trophy.

Bristol Rovers manager Matt Taylor described that loss as "embarassing", while suggesting not many of those who played had made a case to be picked in the league.

Since then, Garrett has been a late substitute in a defeat to Huddersfield, before being left on the bench in Tuesday's win over Shrewsbury.

Consequently, there may be some wondering just how involved Garrett will be going forward, which will be a concern for Blackburn, given they know what he can do when he finds form.

It has been a somewhat similar story for O'Riordan, who has made five appearances since his move to Cambridge in total.

However, the last of those outings for the centre-back, came on the 17th September, and he has failed to feature in six straight games since then, falling out of favour at the Abbey Stadium.

Indeed, he has not even made the matchday squad in three of those games that he has missed, although U's boss Garry Monk did recently admit the 21-year-old does not deserve to be left out.

Despite that, it may be hard for O'Riordan to reverse his exclusion from the squad, with Cambridge having won their last two games 2-0 against Wigan Athletic and Stevenage.

Given they represent the club's first two wins of the campaign, Monk may well be keen stick with that winning formula, leaving the Blackburn loanee on the sidelines for some time yet in the process.

That could also be a problem for Rovers, given veterans Kyle McFadzean and Danny Batth are approaching the latter stages of their careers, and are out of contract in the summer.

Because of that, O'Riordan is the next most senior centre-back behind the first choice duo of Dom Hyam and Hayden Carter, who has some sort of contract at Ewood Park for next season.

But if he is unable to get regular games for a struggling League One side, there may be questions over whether the 21-year-old will be able to step into that role for Blackburn in 2025/26 and beyond.

With neither player having appeared for John Eustace's side this season, they could be loaned out elsewhere in January, provided there are recall clauses in their current deals.

If things don't change for the duo at Bristol Rovers and Cambridge in the coming weeks, you get the feeling Blackburn may well be re-checking the terms of those agreements, to see if that is the case.