Blackburn Rovers told to consider Sondre Tronstad action in January - "hopefully the club will learn" | OneFootball

FLW's Blackburn fan pundit hopes that, if Sondre Tronstad were to leave, Rovers would secure a fee for him

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…

A lot of people were quick to criticise Blackburn Rovers' movements in the recent summer transfer window, which saw a lot of players leaving either on free transfers or for cut prices due to their contracts expiring.

Exciting winger Tyrhys Dolan didn't commit to a new deal in the summer and left for free to Espanyol, as did Danny Batth and Andreas Weimann.

Additionally, Callum Brittain, Dominic Hyam and Lewis Travis, who had contracts set to expire at the end of the current campaign, all departed this past summer.

Sondre Tronstad falls into that category, too, and with his deal set to expire next June, Blackburn fans are hoping that a repeat of what happened to Dolan doesn't happen, as the one-time Norwegian international could have some value if a sale were to be made.

Simon Middlehurst, FLW's Blackburn fan pundit, hopes that the club would have learned from their mistakes if Tronstad were to depart, and that they can secure a fee for him in January, rather than letting him walk away for nothing next summer.

Last month, Blackburn's Head of Football Operations, Rudy Gestede, told BBC Radio Lancashire that Tronstad "doesn't want to sign a new deal for his own reasons," as "his future is not in this country".

If that ends up being the case in a few months, Middlehurst would prefer that Blackburn sell in January to recoup a fee for the 30-year-old, rather than let him walk at the end of the season.

"There were rumours in the summer that Tronstad was looking to move for personal reasons," Middlehurst said.

"His family hadn't settled in the UK as well as everyone would have hoped, so he was looking to move either to Holland, where he was before Blackburn, or potentially go home to Norway.

"Hopefully they were just rumours, and that he will sign a new contract, as he's been a big part of the team and the club over the past few years, so it'd be great for him to stay.

"However, if he does leave, hopefully the club will learn and get some sort of fee in January, depending on the incomings the club get, otherwise they're potentially looking to the end of the season when he'll be leaving on a free."

The 30-year-old won the supporters' Player of the Year last season, indicating not only his importance to the team, but also a value which the club could cash in on this coming January.

Gestede seemed content with letting Tronstad's contract run out, which would be a big frustration for Blackburn fans, especially following a disappointing transfer window in terms of player departures this summer.

"Blackburn never seems to learn; we always learn the hard way, and we lost a lot of potential financial income in the summer due to letting players go," Middlehurst added.

"Therefore, I can see it happening again in the summer — Tronstad leaving and Blackburn not getting any sort of fee."

Blackburn Rovers' frustration increases as Sondre Tronstad seems destined to leave

After an incredibly positive season on the field in the 2024/25 campaign, it seems that the majority of the squad has been completely gutted, and the remaining contributors don't seem far away from joining them in departing Blackburn, too.

Regardless of whether a fee is claimed for Tronstad or not, there'll be some disappointment among the Blackburn fanbase at the inevitability of the move, as it doesn't seem to be in their hands whether he stays at Ewood Park or not.

Valerien Ismael and co can't simply force the 30-year-old to remain at the club, so it seems that the higher-ups at Blackburn are seemingly willing to enjoy the Norwegian for the short amount of time they have left with him, before reluctantly saying goodbye in May.

Whether Rovers fans agree with that decision or not doesn't detract from the fact that, in an ideal world, the two parties would agree on a deal and Tronstad would remain at Ewood Park for the foreseeable.