New Derby County signing Lewis Travis reveals "massive" John Eustace factor in £3m Blackburn Rovers transfer | OneFootball

The midfielder has reunited with his former Blackburn boss at Pride Park after a lengthy transfer saga

Lewis Travis has revealed the crucial role which John Eustace played in the midfielder reuniting with his former Blackburn Rovers boss at Derby County, bringing the long-standing transfer saga to an end.

Eustace has been one of the Championship's most active managers throughout the summer as Derby look to make significant strides of progress in his first full season in charge at Pride Park after preserving their divisional status on the final day of the campaign last time around.

The 45-year-old has drafted in plenty of second-tier experience which includes recruits from his former club, from whom he made what was viewed as a shock decision to leave at the time given Blackburn's then-position in and among the sides vying for a play-off place.

However, Travis has followed Andreas Weimann and the defensive duo of Danny Batth and Dion Sanderson in names that have continuously been associated with the Rams boss throughout his three-year spell as a second-tier manager at Birmingham City alongside Rovers and Derby.

Travis accumulated over 250 appearances for Blackburn after progressing through the Ewood Park ranks, subsequently becoming club captain whilst also having a loan move to Ipswich Town sandwiched inbetween during the Tractor Boys' promotion-winning campaign of 2023/24.

Football League World exclusively revealed Eustace's desire to bring the combative 27-year-old to DE24 back in June, with it being reported last week that a £3m fee had been agreed between the respective clubs after Travis was omitted from Blackburn's matchday squads against Birmingham and Hull City, which led to a strong verdict regarding his actions by Valerien Ismael.

However, ahead of the Rams' trip to Travis' former loan side, Ipswich, on Saturday afternoon, it was confirmed that the Whiston-born man had put pen-to-paper on a four-year deal in the East Midlands, and he revealed exactly how Eustace played a crucial role in his thought process.

"I'm over the moon to be here. It's been a long time coming, so I'm buzzing to finally be here," Travis told Derby's official club media.

When asked about the prospect of working under Eustace once more, Travis stated: "He's a really honest manager. Sometimes that's tough to find. I love the way he plays. He's very intense, and he's got his ways.

"Speaking to John Eustace and seeing his massive ambition for the club, the players he's brought in and obviously the facilities here - I was really excited to play in front of the home fans at Pride Park.

"My perception comes from the last time I played against Derby in March. They were in the bottom three, but the fans were so enthusiastic and so loud, they’re always behind the team," he added.

"It's a very hard-working team. Obviously, they know the way John wants to play. That's exactly how I like to do it. There are a lot of games to be played this season. We just need to knuckle down and kick on now."

Derby County, Blackburn Rovers and Lewis Travis can all be relieved transfer saga has come to an end

It had been clear as the transfer window progressed just how keen Derby were to add Travis to their ranks. Now they, the player and his former club can all be relieved that the transfer saga has been put to bed, and they can all move forward.

£3 million represents a fair sum of cash into Blackburn's coffers for a player who was also out-of-contract at Ewood Park next June, and Ismael has already looked to have found an immediate replacement for the outgoing captain with the recent signing of Malian midfielder, Moussa Baradji.

Meanwhile, Travis will need next-to-no introduction to the way Eustace sets up his sides in an energetic, hard-working manner, and he certainly fits that bill as an all-action midfielder capable of adding further steel to the centre of the park whilst quickly progressing the ball forward into attacking areas - another department which Derby are heavily stacked in given their summer recruitment.