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FLW looks back on Blackburn's 2013 signing of Rudy Gestede from Cardiff City, and how the big striker became a cult figure at Ewood Park.

Blackburn Rovers signed Rudy Gestede from Cardiff City for a fee of £200k in the 2013/14 season and his exploits from his time at Ewood Park would ensure he'd leave a lasting legacy as one of the club's finest pieces of transfer business.

Rovers brought the Benin international to Ewood Park under the guise of a low-cost gamble, who could become a deadly target in the Championship under then Blackburn boss Gary Bowyer and that's precisely how it played out.

Gestede would go on to become one of Blackburn's most prolific forwards of recent times, scoring over 30 goals across the two seasons in which he dominated the skies at Ewood Park.

So when the time came to eventually sell him for a fee in the region of £6m in 2015, Rovers ensured that they'd completed one of their best pieces of business in a long time.

Gestede formed deadly duo at Ewood Park

As far as striking duos go, there weren't many partnerships that were feared greater across the Championship between 2013 and 2015 than Jordan Rhodes and Gestede.

With Gestede's aerial dominance and Rhodes' predatory ability in and around the box, each of their respective games complemented the others with deadly consequences for the opposition.

In total, the pair combined for 79 goals across the two seasons that they shared the Ewood Park pitch together before Gestede departed for the Premier League with Aston Villa in 2015.

35 goals and 10 assists in 72 appearances for Blackburn solidified his place as one of the club's most lethal marksmen in their recent history. Gestede was often too much for opposition defenders to handle, with entire game plans being crafted in an attempt to neutralise his effectiveness.

More often than not, that didn't work, and even if and when it did, Rhodes was often on hand to punish teams regardless. It really was a case of pick your poison during their reign in Lancashire.

Rhodes would stay with Rovers until February 2016, before signing for Middlesbrough, foreshadowing a future career decision the Benin striker would make too.

Gestede may have earned a dream move to the Premier League with Aston Villa but his career would soon take an unexpected decline that will no doubt have had the big striker feeling like he'd slipped into a nightmare.

Just two seasons after arriving at Villa Park, Gestede walked out the exit door after scoring 10 goals in 55 appearances in all competitions, earning yet another chance to prove himself at top-flight level with Middlesbrough in January 2017.

But, after making 16 Premier League appearances and scoring just one goal in the second half of the season, Boro and Gestede were relegated, as he found himself back in the Championship once again.

Despite not immediately endearing himself to the Riverside Stadium crowds, Middlesbrough fans remained largely hopeful that his previous strike rates in the Championship would see him fire the club back to the top flight.

Unfortunately, that wasn't to be the case, and come the summer of 2020 and having found the net just eight times in 71 appearances for the club, Gestede found himself having to say goodbye to English football.

He would see out the final few years of his career bouncing around world football, with spells in Australia, Greece, and finally Iran before he decided to call time on his career in June 2022.

Gestede ready to launch future successful Blackburn careers

An indication as to how much he enjoyed his time at Ewood Park, Gestede's first venture back into football following his retirement has seen him return to Blackburn Rovers as Head of Football Operations.

Speaking on his new role with the club website, Gestede said:“I couldn’t take my first steps into life off the pitch in a better place than with Blackburn Rovers.

“I can only thank the Ownership, Steve Waggott and Suhail in giving me the opportunity to start and I’m very excited to be part of this environment now. I will give 100% for the club, just as I did when I was a player here.

“I’m very excited and so pleased to be back, and looking forward to the start of the new season. My role will be to oversee every department at the Senior Training Centre, from administration to catering to recruitment, and making sure every department is linked together with the Academy.

“As a club, we should all be aligned as one and pushing in the same direction, from the Academy to the first team. It’s important for someone to link it all together and I’ll make sure I do my best to help us reach the same goal.”

Having a figure who knows exactly what it takes to make a successful career at Blackburn Rovers, in such a role that allows him to work closely with all aspects of the football club, could turn out to be a very wise decision indeed.

Gestede seems committed to improving the football club in any way that he can, and that's fantastic news for Rovers, as you can never have enough people within your walls who are passionate about seeing the club do well.