Blackburn Rovers backed to seal Sunderland transfer for 'highly-rated' ace | OneFootball

FLW's Blackburn fan pundit is happy with the reports linking Rovers with Sunderland prospect Timur Tutyerov

Blackburn Rovers have battled hard through the busy opening to the 2026/27 campaign, especially given their lack of strength in depth.

Tony Mowbray hasn't had much to work with in his return to the Ewood Park dugout.

Despite flying to Zurich to have a conversation with the Venky's about the transfer budget in early August, Blackburn ended the window with just four new arrivals — one of which, Moussa Baradji, spent last season on loan at the club.

With injury issues carrying over from last season, it got to the point where the Blackburn boss admitted that his side were hardly training to try and keep players from getting hurt. So far this year, numerous inexperienced academy graduates have had to make up the numbers.

Blackburn Rovers are already looking at ways to improve the squad in January

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However, the Venky's have offered their financial support to Tony Mowbray and the club for the upcoming transfer window, and Balaji Rao made a rare appearance at Ewood Park earlier this month to assure that.

In the meantime, though, all Mowbray can do is make do with what he's got currently, with a view to adding a few more players when the transfer window re-opens in January.

According to Alan Nixon, Rovers are looking at adding Sunderland youngster Timur Tutyerov to the ranks on loan. The Ukrainian winger was signed by the Black Cats when Mowbray was the manager at the Stadium of Light, but has made just one senior appearance in three years.

That bow did come this season in the EFL Cup, but he hasn't been close to breaking into the senior squad for league action. He scored and grabbed an assist in Sunderland Under-21s' Jersey Mikey's Trophy opener against Accrington Stanley, but missed a penalty in the shootout after the game finished 3-3.

Before this season, Tutyerov spent the second half of the 2025/26 campaign at Exeter City in League One, but only scored three times as the Grecians won just one of their final 20 league outings as they succumbed to relegation.

Blackburn Rovers fan pundit welcomes possibility of loaning Timur Tutyerov

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Despite Tutyerov's time at Exeter not going to plan, it started brilliantly, with a couple of goals off the bench in his first two games, showcasing why he's highly rated in the Sunderland fold.

Ultimately, it's always difficult to bed into a new side midway through the campaign, and it's even harder when the head coach who brought you in leaves a month later, which was the case when Gary Caldwell returned to Wigan Athletic in February.

Therefore, while some feel that a move for a 21-year-old who lacks experience outside of League One would be a bit underwhelming, FLW's Blackburn fan pundit, Simon Middlehurst, is taking positives from it, in that the Ukrainian Under-21 international would help add an extra body in the squad, while giving him the game time to develop.

"If it's the potential to bring in another body in January, it would be good," he said. "The squad is small at the moment, especially with injuries.

"From what I've heard, he seems to be quite highly rated at Sunderland, and a potential loan move to the Championship would be good for both parties, allowing him to get some experience at a higher level.

"It'd be good to bring a young player in; we'd give him the game time he needed. It'd be good for us in that sense, and we'd help his development, so it'll be interesting to see what happens come January."

Blackburn Rovers may have to take some risks in their recruitment in January

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It's evident that Tutyerov is too good for youth football. The 21-year-old netted six in seven PL2 games last season and has a goal and an assist in two games this time out.

However, with Sunderland flying high in the Premier League and playing in Europe, the gap between the youth team and the senior team at the Stadium of Light arguably has never been bigger.

No one is expecting the Ukrainian to be breaking into Premier League squads just yet, but seeing how he fares in the Championship would provide a good indication as to whether he's there just yet.

If Sunderland can find themselves in a position where they can try Tutyerov out in the second tier, they'd be wise to take it. As for the club loaning him in, there's no doubt it'd be a risk, as the 21-year-old isn't proven at the level and doesn't have much senior football behind him.

Perhaps, even with the promise of more backing, Blackburn will still need to be the side to take these risks as they look to add more bodies to the squad. You get the feeling that there should be more incomings in January than there were throughout the summer, and not all of them can be certified players for the level.