Blackburn Rovers man nearing €15m switch to Sunderland after deal was agreed officially…
Blackburn Rovers goalkeeper Leopold Wahlstedt is subject to interest from Sunderland this summer, as per Tipsbladet (Via Sport Witness).
Blackburn Rovers will be hoping for a much better season this time around in the Championship.
Rovers finished 19th in the Championship last season, narrowly avoiding relegation. John Eustace took the helm following the departure of Jon Dahl Tomasson, but was unable to really hit the ground running at Ewood Park.
There have been a lot of wrong moves made at the club over recent times, but this summer provides a fresh opportunity to right the wrongs and get Blackburn Rovers heading in the right direction once again.
Wahlstedt, 24, joined the second tier club from Norway just last summer. He made just 21 Championship appearances for the club and fell out of favour towards the backend of the campaign.
Just a year after joining, reports are now claiming he is close to leaving. Aarhus Gymnastikforening are the side interested. A €1million deal is almost agreed and it is now said it comes down to what the player wants to do.
Eustace didn’t give Wahlstedt much game time after joining the club, so it is unlikely that will change much next season.
But the Swedish shot stopper did sign a three year deal just last year and in theory he doesn’t need to be in a rush to leave.
AGF would be able to provide the goalkeeper with more consistent, guaranteed game time, but it remains to be seen whether that would be enough to tempt him away from England so soon after joining.
Building for the future
Blackburn Rovers only narrowly missed out on a top six finish under Tomasson in the 2022/23 season. Nobody expected them to be fighting relegation last time around, but it shows there is plenty of work to do behind the scenes at the club.
Eustace has a big job ahead of him and getting off to a good start is crucial next time out. However, before then the summer window is the perfect chance for Eustace to make his mark on the squad and weed out any players who he deems either bad for culture, or simply not good enough.
There is a long way to go and whilst it would be unreasonable to expect Rovers to immediately climb back into the top half, fans will be expecting a more stable season with no fear of falling into League One.
The Rovers stint was the most fruitful, notching 35 goals and 10 assists in 72 games before moving to Villa Park for a reported £6m.
After hanging up the boots two years ago though, Gestede has switched his focus to an eye-catching new role, and he’s back at Ewood Park in a bid to help him get there.
