Blackburn Rover signed Sammie Szmodics from Peterborough United in September last year.
Rovers spent a reported fee of £1.8million on the Irishman, and it’s since been money well spent.
The 28-year-old made 34 Championship outings last season and scored five, with two assists. But Szmodics has scored nine and assisted two in his opening 15 games of this season.
He’s Rovers’ top scorer and the joint top scorer in the Championship with Sunderland’s Jack Clarke. And having his say on Szmodics and his progression, Rovers boss Jon Dahl Tomasson told the club:
“I think Sammie’s development has been really, really good.
“We know that he can score goals, we know that he can play with few touches, he always works extremely hard for the team, but at the end you always want a result and the result could be goals! And he’s scoring a lot of goals as well.
“I’m always trying to push Sammie as well, but he’s a great lad and also great for the dressing room. There’s always a good spirit around Sammie.
“He’s one of the senior players, but he’s also performing like one of the senior players and that’s very nice to see. He’s playing with confidence. He ended last season really well and he started this season on fire.”
A key player…
Szmodics had a steady season last time round. But this season he’s become a really key player and one of the standout players in the Championship.
He’s stepped up in Ben Brereton Diaz’s absence and given Tomasson a really prolific and versatile option in attack, and keeping him fit and firing will be key to any success Rovers have this season.
And with the January transfer window coming up, Rovers may well be wary of potential suitors coming in for Szmodics, especially given his fine form of late.
Up next for Blackburn is a home game vs Preston North End on Friday night.
