Blackburn Rovers sit comfortably as a Sky Bet Championship side as the season faces its final game on Saturday – Rovers in a safe 15th place in the table on 54 points.
With their season effectively done and dusted, Saturday’s game against a flagging Birmingham City something of a dead rubber match.
Next up for the Ewood Park side is a summer where restructuring will be a must and thoughts have already started to turn towards that. This is according to the Lancashire Telegraph with news of one player has played his last game for the club and possible extensions for two others.
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Holtby contract decision made by Rovers
Lancashire Telegraph reporter Rich Sharpe writes that Blackburn will not be offering an extension to Lewis Holtby that would prolong his deal at Ewood Park. He reports this news via a post-match comment from Rovers manager Tony Mowbray.
Mowbray is reported as saying that Holtby’s absence from the 1-1 Rotherham game was a conscious decision and that the former Spurs and Hamburg midfielder will be leaving in the summer.
Mowbray said of this that it was “right for himself and the club” that he plays no further part in the season so that he can avoid the possibility of injury “ahead of a summer where he’s got to go and find himself a new club.”
German-born Holtby, a three-cap international, featured 27 times for Rovers this season – providing a single assist.
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Two more contract decisions likely to be made
In a separate article, Sharpe writes that whilst a decision has been made about Holtby for the summer, different decisions have been reached over Ryan Nyambe and Joe Rothwell.
Like Lewis Holtby’s deal, Nyambe and Rothwell’s deals expire this summer but Sharpe posits that the decision Rovers will make on the pair will be a different one to that of Holtby.
He writes that Rovers will “at the very least” trigger the 12-month extension options within their current deals. 23-year-old Nyambe has made 37 appearances this season – the right-back providing four assists. 26-year-old midfielder Rothwell has impressed over his 39 appearances scoring 3 goals and providing 4 assists.
