Blackburn Rovers have ‘absolute clarity’ on budgets for next season

The departures of Bradley Dack, Daniel Ayala and Ben Brereton have freed up funds in the wage budget, but their replacements will be part of at least six new players targeted by the club this summer.

Rovers spent £4.5m on transfer fees last summer, without any player sales, with their net spend being the third highest in the league.

Broughton says there has to a move towards a player-trading model, but allayed fears over a summer departure of Adam Wharton, saying it will take an ‘unbelievable’ offer for Rovers to part with the teenage starlet.

But sales are to be expected to give Rovers wriggle-room in the market, with key business needing to be done in the transfer window.

“This summer we have absolute clarity on what the wage bill looks like and it’s exactly the same wage bill as it has been for the last two years,” Broughton said.

“That would place us just below the middle of the Championship in terms of our wages.

“We know we have to generate transfer fees and we have plans in place in order to do that.

“That’s maybe something the club would have wanted to do better in the past and one of the reasons they have brought me in here.

“We can’t be naïve here to think the Financial Fair Play rules allow our owners just to give us money for transfer fees, they don’t. We have to generate that.

“Using Middlesbrough for example, they did really good business in the January transfer window but they did that on the back of selling key players for huge money last summer.

“For us now it’s about the timing of getting that right.

“One of the reasons we’ve done all the hard work to renew the 12 contracts is to allow us to be in control of that situation rather than be in a position like we were last season with Ben where if we didn’t do it then, the opportunity is gone.

“You are almost doing the business with a gun to your head.

“Now you’re doing it with complete control.”

Having seen three key players leave the club last summer on free transfers, and Brereton likewise this year, Broughton says it’s imperative Rovers addressed the issue of contracts being allowed to be run down so to protect value.

He added: “Every club in the world is a player trading club, even Manchester City sell some of their best players when they feel the time is right for them to do so.

“What we have to do is decide when the timing is right for those sales, and have complete transparency with the player and agent when that will be so you’re doing that in agreement rather than forcing a player out when they’re not wanting to leave, or forcing them to stay when they don’t want to be here.”