Blackburn Rovers set for transfer raid at the hands of Arsenal - It's 'frustrating' after Tottenham & Newcastle Utd sagas | OneFootball

Igor Tyjon has been heavily linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium

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 have become a club used to seeing several high-profile names or talented young stars depart Ewood Park in recent times, and such a trend could be set to continue in the upcoming January transfer window.

That's because fresh developments have come to the fore regarding a pursuit from Premier League giants, Arsenal, for 17-year-old Rovers starlet, Igor Tyjon.

The youngster hasn't received a major amount of first-team minutes in East Lancashire despite being the latest to potentially follow in the footsteps of current England international and Manchester United plus Real Madrid transfer target, Adam Wharton, who has since become one of the most impressive young midfielders in the Premier League for Crystal Palace, but can still pay a huge amount of credit towards the Championship side for the influence which they had over his overall development thus far.

For many years now, big-money sales such as that of Wharton's and the deal which was also agreed between Blackburn and Ipswich Town for Sammie Szmodics have somewhat helped balance the books from Blackburn's perspective, with the chequebooks at Ewood Park still yet to fully flow under the controversial ownership of the Venky's, which has led to many years of stagnation following their relegation from the Premier League all the way back in 2011/12.

However, it must be said that Tyjon's links to the North London side have been particularly long-standing and extremely frustrating for those in the North West, although it could now be a matter of time before a deal between the two clubs is finalised.

Tyjon has been on Rovers' books since the summer of 2023, having joined the club from National League side, Rochdale at just 15 years of age.

Despite being so young, the forward was immediately fast-tracked into Rovers' Under-21s setup during the final months of Jon Dahl Tomasson's tenure as senior boss in East Lancashire, making his debut for the aforementioned age group in November 2023.

He would then be named as an unused substitute against Bristol City and Leicester City under John Eustace, before penning a two-year scholarship contract in July 2024 amid interest from Premier League sides such as Brighton and Hove Albion and Manchester United.

Since then, the Southport-born attacker has made three senior appearances for Blackburn, although only one of those would come in the starting lineup, with current boss Valerien Ismael opting to hand Tyjon his first start in the first-team in his side's EFL Cup first round defeat to Bradford City on August 12th.

Such feats came after it was revealed by Alan Nixon via Patreon that Arsenal had seen a bid of £1m plus add-ons for Tyjon rejected in July. However, he has since reported that the Premier League-leading Gunners will receive the "green light" to pursue the England youth international's signature in January, as he continues to turn down fresh, professional terms with Blackburn.

According to Nixon, this has impacted Ismael's decision when it comes to handing further first-team opportunities, whilst the entire saga continues to frustrate supporters such as Football League World's Blackburn Rovers fan pundit, Simon Middlehurst, especially when it's happened with other former Rovers youngsters before - although he understands exactly why the youngster is attracted to a top-flight transfer.

"It's a little bit frustrating," Middlehurst told FLW.

"We've lost quite a few young players over the past few seasons - Ash Phillips and Rory Finneran have gone to Tottenham and Newcastle, so it's a little bit frustrating.

"Ideally, you want to keep your best young players and help them grow within the club. But, ultimately, if they don't sign a contract, there's not a lot we can do.

He added: "The attraction of moving to a bigger club like Arsenal, at his age, who wouldn't want to turn that down and have a new experience at a bigger club, progress there and play Premier League football?"

Blackburn Rovers and Valerien Ismael may be relieved if Igor Tyjon, Arsenal transfer reaches swift conclusion

As previously mentioned, the aforementioned transfer saga has reportedly impacted Tyjon's chances of regular first-team minutes, albeit Ismael stated in October that the striker wasn't ready for those.

As Middlehurst alluded to, with this not being the first instance of a highly-rated youngster leaving Blackburn at such a young age in recent times, it is frustrating. But, there is very little the club can do if Tyjon's heart is understandably set on a top-flight move.

However, there may be a sense of relief if the saga is brought to a swift end, as they can still command a sizeable fee for the attacker's services in January, instead of losing Tyjon for no money whatsoever when his scholarship contract officially expires in June 2026.

They had a similar issue with Rory Finneran, with the 17-year-old opting to move to Newcastle in the summer of 2024 - a tribunal would have to determine the compensation paid to Rovers, but nearly a year-and-a-half on it has not been settled, with Rovers considering legal action.

Rovers were also seemingly held to ransom by Ash Phillips, who would only sign a new contract in 2022 with a low release clause in the small-print - Tottenham activated that £2 million figure in August 2023, with Blackburn ruing it ever since. Tyjon looks next in-line to be poached by a top flight club, but it shows the strength of Rovers' academy for it to keep happening.