Blackburn Rovers struck gold with £500k French transfer deal: View | OneFootball

Blackburn Rovers were aiming to build on a 15th-placed finish in the Premier League in Sam Allardyce's first summer as boss of the club in 2009.

The transfer window saw Gael Givet's loan signing made permanent from Marseille, veteran defender Michel Salgado arrive from Real Madrid and highly-rated Croatian international Nikola Kalinic join from Hajduk Split for £6m - a lot of change was afoot as Tugay, Roque Santa Cruz and Aaron Mokoena all left Ewood Park.

Allardyce did also look to the future though, as a young Frenchman by the name of Steven Nzonzi arrived on a four-year contract from Ligue 2 side Amiens SC to bolster their midfield ranks.

The then-20-year-old central midfielder was heralded as the 'new Patrick Vieira,' and instantly became a regular under Allardyce in his debut season in English football as he won the club's Player of the Year award, chosen by the Rovers fans.

He left the club in 2012 amid a spat with then-boss Steve Kean, but won the hearts of Rovers supporters in his three seasons for his effortlessly graceful style of play and clear potential to be world-class.

His signing was a stroke of genius by Allardyce and Rovers - he showed some great form whilst at the club, they netted a decent profit when he left, and he has gone on to have a notable career in the game since leaving.

Blackburn unearthed a gem in Nzonzi

Nzonzi slotted straight into Allardyce's midfield alongside experienced operators like Vince Grella, David Dunn and Keith Andrews, and netted his first goal for the club on his fifth Premier League appearance, with the opener in a 6-2 loss at Arsenal.

He showcased his complete all-round game with a stunning 30-yard strike for his second goal for the club against Everton in April, and made 38 appearances in all competitions in his debut season as he picked up the club's Player of the Year award and prompted the club to offer him an improved five-year deal that summer to keep him tied down until 2015.

The Frenchman's second Rovers season was probably his least impressive, after he lost his place in the starting XI in October and was urged to raise his game by Allardyce.

Allardyce was then controversially sacked in December and Nzonzi returned to the fold under new boss Steve Kean, finishing on 24 appearances and one goal in all competitions for the 2010/11 season.

His final season at the club was well-improved from a personal standpoint, but Rovers became a sinking ship under Kean and new owners the Venky's, and Nzonzi could not save them from being relegated from the Premier League in 19th place.

He scored two goals and notched five assists in 34 games in 2011/12 under Kean, but fell out with the Scot at the end of the season and sat out the final four games before handing in a transfer request and joining Stoke City in August in a £3.5m deal that could have risen to £5m with add-ons.

He delved deeper into their relegation and the lead-up to his Rovers exit with the Daily Mail in 2015, and said: "The first season there, we finished 10th in the league with Sam Allardyce. The second season wasn’t bad either.

"After that they changed everything – the owners, the manager, I don’t even know why. So many players left and then it was a completely different club. It fell apart.

"I got really mad in training and had an argument with the manager (Kean). It’s hard as a player when you see everything change and decisions are made that you don’t expect so I got angry. After that I didn’t play and we were relegated - it was a really hard season."

While he did not end his time at Ewood Park on great terms with his boss, it is clear that Rovers were able to unearth a gem in Nzonzi - he was one of their most important players throughout his three seasons at the club and even netted them profit when he left.

Nzonzi had a successful career

After leaving Blackburn, Nzonzi furthered his reputation in his three years at Stoke before a big move to Sevilla in 2015 for £7m.

He won the Europa League in his debut season in Spain and was a key player under the likes of Unai Emery and Jorge Sampaoli, earning a first call-up to the France senior team in November 2017.

The crowning moment of his career came in the summer of 2018 as he was a part of the France World Cup winning squad in Russia, featuring in five of their seven games, including off the bench in the final against Croatia.

He moved to Roma that same summer for £26m, has since played for Galatasaray, Rennes and Al-Rayyan and is still going strong at Konyaspor in the Super Lig at 35-years-old.