Blackburn Rovers’ £750k Gillingham FC punt reaped serious rewards with the Sensational ace set to Join Sunderland
Bradley Dack was a revolution during his time at Ewood Park, as he fired Rovers back into the Championship during their darkest hour
There weren’t many positives about Blackburn Rovers’ brief sojourn into League One in the 2017/18 campaign, but the signing of Bradley Dack was most definitely one of the best things to happen to the club at the time.
The attacking midfielder had been in red-hot form for Gillingham before his £750k move to Ewood Park, with 24 goal contributions for a side that flirted with the third tier playoffs 12 months before he left, with his quality in the final third there for all to see.
Whether he was darting in from out wide or playing behind the striker, the playmaker would prove to be a pivotal part of the Rovers side in the years to come, as he took to life in Lancashire with consummate ease.
With Danny Graham playing alongside him in the third tier, Dack was part of a devastating partnership that left League One defences running scared, before continuing that once a return to the Championship was secured, making him one of the best-value signings for the club of all time.
Bradley Dack shines for Blackburn Rovers en route to League One promotion
It took Dack a while to get going in a blue and white shirt, with the Rovers faithful having to wait until his seventh match before he found the back of the net for his new side; as he fired home a late equaliser in a 1-1 draw with Shrewsbury Town.
That goal breathed new belief into Dack’s game, and it wasn’t long before those at Ewood Park were being dazzled by the new man on the block, with his trademark runs into the penalty area impossible to deal with, as he plundered time after time as Rovers clicked into top gear.
Get the ball and go; that seemed to be Dack’s mantra as he continued to impress in an upwardly mobile side, with his jinking runs sparking many a counter-attack, as he meandered past many a static defender in the hunt of more goals for his tally.
Inside the box or outside, he was always posing a threat, and rescued many a point for his side in the battle for automatic promotion, as surprise package Shrewsbury kept them honest for the majority of the campaign at the top of the table.
18 goals and a promotion later, Dack was given his first chance in the second tier, and showed no signs of slowing down as Rovers returned to the Championship with a spring in their step after such a promising promotion campaign.
New league, same old Bradley Dack: another late penalty box surge saw him net on his first game of the season against Ipswich Town, and gave the rest of the division a warning of what was to come, not that they took it, of course.
