Blackburn offer deals to Batth, Dolan & Weimann
Blackburn Rovers have offered new deals to defender Danny Batth and forwards Tyrhys Dolan and Andi Weimann.
Batth, 34, signed a one-year contract in August last year and scored two goals in 37 league appearances for the Championship side this season.
Dolan, 23, has made 211 appearances for Blackburn after joining in 2020, while Weimann, 33, who also joined as a free agent last August, scored seven goals in 30 league games this campaign.
The club have also triggered the one-year option on the contract of winger Ryan Hedges, 29.
Forwards Dilan Markandy, 23, and Jack Vale, 24, have both been released, while veteran midfielder Adam Forshaw, 33, has not been offered a new deal but the club have said they will “keep in close contact” with him over the summer.
Valerien Ismael’s side finished seventh this season, two points off the play-off places.
Blackburn make surprise contract decision with 20 to leave
Blackburn Rovers remain in contract talks with Danny Batth, Andi Weimann and Tyrhys Dolan but Adam Forshaw has been released.
The club have released their retained list, which also confirmed that the one-year extension clause in Ryan Hedges’ contract has been triggered, as revealed by The Lancashire Telegraph.
Valerien Ismael is looking to maintain the core of Rovers’ squad and wants to add around half a dozen to strengthen those remaining at Ewood Park.
Rovers had to notify players of their intentions by May 17, though they didn’t have to publicise their decisions until June. However, as is customary, they have chosen to do so in advance.
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Each player’s deal runs until June 30 and so Rovers will hope to have them tied down before they officially become free agents. Dolan’s deal will be the most difficult to negotiate, as is well documented.
Batth remains in talks but the first proposal sent over Easter weekend was not accepted. It’s still anticipated that he will stay, though, with Rovers the defender’s first choice.
Weimann is still recovering from a knee injury but after a successful debut campaign, he has also been offered fresh terms.
The surprise is that there is no deal for Forshaw, who had been spoken up in the press by Ismael. The 33-year-old was also selected in the squad ahead of John Buckley and Joe Rankin-Costello, who remain contracted until 2027.
However, in their statement, Rovers say they will ‘keep in close contact’ with the midfielder as the summer window progresses but he is ‘entitled to explore other options’.
Rovers have released 20 players, though. They have not triggered their 12-month option on Zak Gilsenan, as exclusively revealed by The LT a fortnight ago.
Dilan Markanday is another player who could’ve seen his stay extended by another year but Rovers have decided to let him leave. The winger is currently preparing for the League One play-off final with Leyton Orient.
Whilst gametime has been limited recently, there will still be plenty of interest in the third and fourth tiers after his impressive loan at Chesterfield in the first half of the season.
Of those to have made their first-team debuts, Tom Bloxham, Pat Gamble, Jalil Saadi and Jack Vale will also be departing this summer. It is a relatively ruthless clearout, with Rovers opting for fresh blood on a few marginal calls where they might previously have extended.
Jordan Eastham, Rhys Doherty, Isaac Whitehall, Alex Baker, Adam Caddick, Paul Murphy-Worrell, Lewis Bell, Bradley Taylor, Jackson Shorrocks, Nathan Willis, Stephen Edmondson and Teddy Ramwell will not be retained by the club either, whilst Dan Shaw’s registration has been cancelled by mutual consent.
Owen Beck, Amario Cozier-Duberry, Dion Sanderson, Cauley Woodrow and Emmanuel Dennis will all return to their parent clubs following their loan spells too.
In total, that takes the departure number to 20, though many of those are from the Under-21s.
