How David Wagner feels about replacing Valerien Ismael at Blackburn Rovers | OneFootball

Rovers are one of three Championship sides conducting a managerial search at present

Former Huddersfield Town and Norwich City boss David Wagner is reportedly not keen on taking over at Blackburn Rovers following the dismissal of Valerien Ismael.

That is according to Alan Nixon - via Patreon - on Monday night, with Rovers parting company with the Frenchman after just 12 months in charge at Ewood Park.

Rovers are currently three points inside the relegation zone after an extremely frustrating campaign thus far, with Ismael enduring a final run of eight matches without victory, as his final outing proved to be a 1-0 defeat to Hull City on Saturday afternoon.

Former midfielder, Damien Johnson, is set to take interim charge of the East Lancashire side for Tuesday night's crucial home fixture against Sheffield Wednesday - a match which was previously abandoned on December 6th due to an unplayable surface at Ewood.

Victory against the Owls will be enough to see Blackburn climb out of the relegation zone at the expense of West Bromwich Albion on goal difference, which could prove to be a pivotal psychological advantage when it comes to the season's final weeks and months.

It remains to be seen which figure will be in the hotseat to oversee a crucial run of fixtures, with it already being reported that Rovers are on the back foot when it comes to landing one of their desired choices in their latest managerial search under the Venkys' ownership.

Blackburn Rovers suffer early blow in managerial search - it involves David Wagner

Speculation over Ismael's future became rife following Blackburn's narrow defeat to the Tigers, with the likes of Tony Mowbray - who previously enjoyed relative success with Rovers - and Slaven Bilic amongst the first names mentioned when it came to a replacement.

Ismael's exit from the Lancashire side was confirmed at approximately 1PM on Deadline Day (February 2nd), with discourse soon generating over who the club's next appointment will be.

Nixon initially reported that the aforementioned Wagner was a potential candidate, whilst other options would be sounded out rather swiftly, in a bid to name the club's latest long-term manager/head coach as soon as possible.

However, after the club failed to land any new signings in the window's final hours, the journalist dropped a fresh update on how the start of Rovers' managerial search had panned out.

He claims that Wagner is not keen on taking the role, despite being out of work since his departure from Norwich in May 2024, after guiding the Canaries into the Championship play-offs.

It has also been claimed that previous managerial target, Bo Svensson, has been considered for the vacancy. However, the Dane is in the frame for the job at Bundesliga outfit, Werder Bremen.

Nixon also states that no contact has been made between the Blackburn hierarchy and Mowbray over a potential reunion, whilst Bilic's representatives have sent back mixed signals over whether the Croatian would be willing to take on a third role in the second tier, having previously done so at West Brom and Watford.

Other figures namedropped into the report include Chris Coleman - who has been linked with the post at Leicester City - and two former Ewood Park bosses in the form of Jon Dahl Tomasson and Mark Hughes, with the latter currently in charge of Carlisle United in the National League.

The reasons behind Wagner's stance remain unclear at this stage, but it is an early blow for Rovers in their hunt for Ismael's successor.

Whilst the German's overall record at Championship level is rather mixed, he was able to defy the odds during his time with Huddersfield, initially securing survival in the second tier with the Terriers before unexpectedly winning promotion to the Premier League through the play-offs.

As such, it remains to be seen how this managerial search will develop in what is a crucial period for Blackburn.