Blackburn Rovers eyeing up Leyton Orient manager Richie Wellens to be John Eustace successor | OneFootball

Blackburn's search for Eustace's replacement is already underway

Leyton Orient boss Richie Wellens has emerged on Blackburn Rovers' list of candidates to replace John Eustace.

That is according to an exclusive report from Alan Nixon via Patreon on Thursday morning, with Eustace's well-anticipated departure to his former club, Derby County, confirmed just hours before.

The uncertainty which has clouded over the East Lancashire club in the past few days did little to halt their progress in the Championship this season, as they remain in a very strong position after defeating play-off-chasing rivals West Bromwich Albion 2-0 at The Hawthorns on Wednesday night, with interim boss David Lowe overseeing a second-half double from Makhtar Gueye which sent Rovers back into fifth place.

Wellens has enjoyed a fine season of his own at the Gaughan Group Stadium, with Orient currently just one place and two points outside the League One play-offs, and he may now have the opportunity to manage in the second tier earlier than envisaged.

Despite being among the favourites for relegation this season, Eustace was able to galvanise a Rovers squad which had lost the goalscoring prowess of Sammie Szmodics to Ipswich Town in the summer and make 16 new signings across both the summer and January windows.

But, regardless of such circumstances, it was reported after talks commenced between Eustace and Derby after the triggering of a £500,000 release clause, that his and the Rovers' board's predicaments were not aligned with one another, and he has opted to move back to the Midlands to join the Rams, who are 19 points and 16 places behind Blackburn in the table.

Unsurprisingly, given their league position, the hierarchy at Ewood Park are looking for a swift solution to proceedings, with the aforementioned Wellens now joining their shortlist of candidates.

Nixon also reported on Wednesday that former Wolves boss Gary O'Neil, former second tier bosses Aitor Karanka and Carlos Carvahal, alongside Raphael Wicky, who was recently linked with a potential move to West Brom before Tony Mowbray was handed the reins in B71, are also on Rovers' radar.

The former Leicester City midfielder has caught the eye of onlookers in the North West for his performance in East London, which has seen the O's firstly consolidate their position in the third tier after winning the League Two title in 2023, before mounting a serious play-off bid this time around.

A potential appointment of the 44-year-old is said to be within the parameters of Rovers' budget, both in terms of a compensation package and Wellens' wage demands.

In comparison to some of the previous names linked with the Blackburn vacancy, Wellens is yet to manage in the second tier, which could be seen as a risk as the club look to cement a play-off berth for the first time at this level since being relegated from the Premier League in 2012.

However, the former Swindon Town and Doncaster Rovers boss is one of the most highly-rated homegrown coaches in the EFL at this moment in time, with Orient playing some scintilating football of late, losing just twice in League One since November 9th.

Since then, only runaway leaders, Birmingham City (37) have picked up more points than Orient (36), with the side from the capital also the division's top scorers in said timeframe.

The nation also got to see them at first-hand on Saturday afternoon, as a spirited performance saw them push Pep Guardiola's Manchester City all the way in the FA Cup Fourth Round, with Jack Grealish and Kevin De Bruyne's finishes cancelling out Stefan Ortega's own-goal off the back of Jamie Donley's remarkable effort.

Of course, Orient will hope to do all within their means to maintain the services of Wellens given their own standing, but it is definitely a situation worth monitoring in the next week or so.