Blackburn Rovers player tipped for January exit as Arsenal & Mikel Arteta circle - "Who can blame him?" | OneFootball

Igor Tyjon has been the subject of transfer interest from the Premier League side.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Blackburn Rovers may struggle to keep hold of their exciting young forward Igor Tyjon for much longer, with Premier League giants Arsenal set to pursue a deal for the teenager in January.

It is no secret that the Gunners are admirers of Tyjon, and while Blackburn managed to keep hold of the 17-year-old amid interest during the summer transfer window, they may face another battle to avoid losing him in January.

Arsenal had a bid worth around £1 million plus add-ons rejected in July, as per journalist Alan Nixon via his Patreon, but they have seemingly not given up on their hopes of landing the promising youngster.

Nixon recently revealed that the Premier League leaders are set to receive the 'green light' to pursue a deal for Tyjon in the new year, so Blackburn will likely be braced for bids during the upcoming winter window, especially as he is yet to commit to a professional contract at Ewood Park.

Tyjon featured on the bench for Rovers a couple of times during the early weeks of the 2025/26 season, and played just over an hour in their EFL Cup First Round defeat against Bradford City, but he has not been named in a first-team squad since August.

Blackburn Rovers prospect looks set to leave Ewood Park as Arsenal circle

FLW asked our Blackburn fan pundit, Simon Middlehurst, whether he thinks it is inevitable that Tyjon will leave Ewood Park, with Arsenal looking set to make a fresh offer next month and his contract expiring at the end of the season.

"Yeah, I think it is bound to happen," Simon told FLW.

"He is clearly a player that has a lot of potential. He was involved with the national under-17's team recently.

"He has been in and around the first-team, he has made the odd appearance here and there.

"Ideally, it would be good if we could keep him. Obviously, we want to keep all our young players. We have got to rely on the younger players coming through these next couple of years.

"It would be great to keep him, but it does look like he is going to be out the door, and who can blame him?

"It is an opportunity to play at a club like Arsenal. Any young player would want to get that experience.

"I will be sad to see him go. I would rather keep him, but it does look like he is going to be on his way out."

Valerien Ismael deemed Igor Tyjon "not ready" for Blackburn Rovers first-team - it could lead to his exit

Tyjon made two substitute appearances in the Championship last season, but he has not been given any league action by Valerien Ismael during the 2025/26 campaign.

The Blackburn boss discussed the reasons behind Tyjon's lack of minutes during an interview in October, as per the Lancashire Telegraph.

"He's a player who is still young, 17 years old," Ismael said.

"He has a long way to go. He is not ready for what we expect which is normal. He needs more time and that's it.

"He is not ready for us right now, we have assessed him a lot.

"The statistics show he needs more time. That's why he has a lot of games with the 21s which helps him to develop, he is only 17 years old."

Blackburn are understood to have offered Tyjon a senior contract, but there have been no indications that he intends to sign it, meaning the club may have no choice but to cash in during the January transfer window if Arsenal do come in with an offer.

If he were to have been given more first-team minutes, it may have been beneficial in order to get Tyjon to sign professional terms, but he looks set to follow the likes of Ash Phillips and Rory Finneran out of the door at the Lancashire outfit in the near future.