Blackburn Rovers are set to beat the likes of Burton Albion and Sheffield United to the signing of Rotherham United’s Richie Smallwood according to a report from the Scunthorpe Telegraph.
The 26-year-old midfielder is coming off the back of a mixed season. In the first half of the year he was on loan at Scunthorpe United and was a key driving force in the team as they challenged for promotion from Sky Bet League One. He would return to Rotherham during the January transfer window but his season soon took a nosedive as he was unable to stop the Millers from getting relegated from the Sky Bet Championship.
Smallwood would leave Rotherham following this drop as his contract was set to expire and many expected him to stay in the Championship with there being plenty of interest in him from that league. Burton Albion, Millwall and Sheffield United were all reported to be interested in him but instead the former Middlesbrough midfielder will be in the thick of it in League One as he is set to sign a deal with Blackburn.
It is likely the reason Smallwood has decided to turn down these offers from the Championship in favour of a move to Blackburn is because of their head coach Tony Mowbray who he worked with at Middlesbrough. This relationship has now got a great coup for Blackburn as they have signed a player who was proven to be a revelation in this league last season and could continue that form going into this year.
