Aston Villa and Middlesbrough supporters may be surprised by what Rudy Gestede is up to in 2024: View | OneFootball

Former Aston Villa forward Rudy Gestede has taken up an interesting non-playing role.

Key Takeaways

Some Aston Villa and Middlesbrough fans will be shocked to know what their former striker Rudy Gestede is up to in 2024.

The Benin international striker was hot property in 2015, as he banged in goals galore for Blackburn Rovers. After initially heading over to Ewood Park on loan from Cardiff City, the former Premier League champions opted to make his deal permanent, which proved to be a stroke of genius.

His two seasons in the Championship with Rovers were excellent, as he fired in 32 goals in 60 matches. This kind of record had heads turning higher up the pyramid. Being only 24-years-old at the time, Gestede had the world at his feet and the makings of a very successful striker were certainly underway.

Aston Villa would be the ones to snatch the forward away from Ewood Park, signing him in the summer of 2015 for a fee reportedly worth £6 million. This ended months of intense speculation as to where the forward was going to end up. However, things didn't quite go as planned for the Blackburn fan favourite.

He struggled to adapt to life in the Premier League, even after scoring the winner on his Villa debut. The 2015-16 season was miserable for the Midlands club, as they dropped one of the worst seasons in Premier League history, scoring 17 points all season. Gestede featured in all but six games in the League, scoring five times.

His return to the Championship was less than productive as well, managing just four goals in 18 appearances. He was then shipped out to newly-promoted Middlesbrough. His time at Villa didn't live up to expectations, and they cashed in on the £6 million man, receiving the same fee from Boro that they paid two years prior.

*League stats only

Sadly, his time on Teesside ended the same way as his time in the Midlands. An injury-riddled four years at the Riverside Stadium, which ended in Gestede refusing to play beyond his contract expiry on June 30th. He was released at the end of the year, going on to have stints in Australia and Iran before retiring in 2023.

Since then, Gestede has returned to the side that he'd played the best football in his career with, in a non-playing role that is crucial to the football club.

Gestede's new Blackburn role

It would've been disappointing for the former striker to call time on his career as early as he did. Sadly, that can be the case when reoccurring injuries plague a player. Gestede was really unfortunate in his career to spend lengthy stints on the sidelines after he departed Ewood Park. This ultimately prevented him from kicking on.

On the positive side, his former employers, Blackburn, have given him a new opportunity that may come as a shock to fans of Aston Villa and Middlesbrough. The former FC Metz forward took up the role of head of football operations in June 2024, just a year after announcing his retirement.

Returning to the Lancashire club in a key role is an excellent way for Gestede to begin a new adventure in the footballing world away from the pitch. After an illustrious career in six countries and knowing the club inside out, his appointment is a very smart move from Rovers.

Speaking to the club's website after his appointment, Gestede stated: "I couldn’t take my first steps into life off the pitch in a better place than with Blackburn Rovers.

"I can only thank the ownership, Steve Waggott and Suhail in giving me the opportunity to start, and I’m very excited to be part of this environment now. I will give 100% for the club, just as I did when I was a player here.

"I’m very excited and so pleased to be back, and looking forward to the start of the new season. My role will be to oversee every department at the Senior Training Centre, from administration to catering to recruitment, and making sure every department is linked together with the Academy."

Blackburn's optimistic future with Gestede

Blackburn's long-term goal will be to get back into the Premier League, where they once had one of the 20 places locked down. This season marks 30 years since the Rovers were crowned English champions. With that in mind, the club would surely love to achieve promotion this season.

However, the Championship is looking extremely strong this season, so it will be a tough ask to maintain their form they showed at the start of the season.

The sale of Sammie Szmodics, whose goals almost certainly kept Blackburn in the Championship last season, was expected, but had supporters worried that without their talisman, they'd struggle to compete. This has so far been proven wrong, as smart investments on talented players such as Todd Cantwell are paying dividends.

With a new era for the Lancashire club underway, Gestede will be hopeful to help guide his club back to the Premier League after a 12-year absence. Under manager John Eustace, Blackburn have proven to be a real dark horse in the Championship this season.