Blackburn Rovers will have serious Derby County envy right now | OneFootball

Derby County signed Sammie Szmodics on deadline day, as he reunites with John Eustace. However, he's not the only ex-Blackburn star at the club.

Blackburn Rovers have had yet another difficult January, and once again, the club are on the lookout for a new manager in February - less than a year after Valerien Ismael joined the club when they were fighting for a Championship play-off spot.

Nearly 12 months later, the Lancashire outfit are fighting for their survival in the second tier, with the battle at the bottom of the table causing great intrigue throughout the division. Yet, for Ismael, it proved too much, and he parted ways with his now former side on Monday.

Meanwhile, at Derby County, Sammie Szmodics was announced as the Rams' final signing of the January transfer window, joining the likes of Oscar Fraulo, Derry Murkin and Jaydon Banel at Pride Park as new winter additions.

The two clubs have been on opposite trends over the course of the last year, as John Eustace made the switch from Ewood Park to the East Midlands, bringing plenty of former Blackburn stars with him during the summer. Yet, there is a new partnership at Derby that Rovers fans would have only dreamed of seeing once again this season.

Blackburn Rovers will be jealous of Derby County's loan deals for Ben Brereton Diaz and Sammie Szmodics

Szmodics is the sixth ex-Blackburn player to join Eustace at Pride Park, with Dion Sanderson, Lewis Travis, Andreas Weimann, Danny Batth and Ben Brereton Diaz all making their way to the club in the summer.

The latter of those struggled to make an impact at the start of his Derby career, and with his ties to bitter rivals Nottingham Forest, there was pressure on the Chile international to turn his form around quickly. He has done that in recent weeks, with his strike against Bristol City last Friday his fourth for the club in all competitions.

Brereton Diaz was not known to Eustace at Blackburn, having left for Spanish club Villarreal in the summer before the 46-year-old moved to Ewood Park. However, he was crucial to their play-off push in 2022/23, scoring 14 goals in 43 league games, having fired in 22 in 37 Championship matches the year prior.

Following his departure, Szmodics took over the role of talisman at Rovers in 2023/24, winning the Championship Golden Boot as his former side avoided relegation on the final day thanks to his incredible brace against Leicester City.

Those were his 26th and 27th goals of the campaign for Blackburn and without him, they would have fallen into League One. But now, supporters of the Lancashire side will be envious of seeing Derby with both of their ex-star players, especially with Eustace coaching them.

Derby County will be looking to inflict further pain on Blackburn Rovers in the coming weeks

It's only a few weeks until the two sides face off once again, with Eustace currently 2-0 up against his former club since joining the Rams as their head coach.

Derby have won 2-1 against Blackburn in their last two games against one another, with their victory at Ewood Park earlier this season part of their five-match winning streak that saw them climb the Championship table after a very difficult start.

Since then, they have only improved, and with Brereton Diaz now in form, and Szmodics looking to make his mark at Pride Park, their clash at the end of February could be disastrous for Rovers, and they may fall victim to Eustace once again.

Nonetheless, this is also the perfect opportunity for Blackburn to get back at their former manager, as well as some of their former players, and win a game that few will give them a chance in.