How much Blackburn Rovers would save on wages if Todd Cantwell leaves | OneFootball

The East Lancashire side could lose their playmaker in the summer amid recent comments

It has been an extremely frustrating season for those of a Blackburn Rovers persuasion, as the East Lancashire side are still firmly locked in the Championship's relegation dogfight.

After almost reaching the play-offs on the final day of last season, Rovers have been unable to replicate such form throughout a campaign that, once again, has seen plenty of ownership controversy come to light at Ewood Park.

It has been well-documented that supporters in this part of East Lancashire have voiced their discontent towards The Venky's for many years now, as the former Premier League champions have fallen as far down as League One since their most recent relegation from the top-flight back in the spring of 2012.

Whilst Blackburn only found themselves in the third tier for one season, they could be back there again at the start of next season unless Michael O'Neill is able to replicate the initial impact he showcased as Stoke City boss six years ago, which would keep Rovers' heads above water for another campaign.

The current Ewood chief is in an unusual 'dual' role at this moment in time, as he balances his commitments with the Blues whilst also having one eye on his dreams of taking Northern Ireland to the upcoming FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico, with their play-off semi-final against Italy just a matter of weeks away.

O'Neill has walked into a club that, from the outside, appears on its knees, having sacked Valerien Ismael on February 1st amid a dire run of form during the final weeks of the Frenchman's tenure.

Despite picking up two victories against in the 56-year-old's first games in charge, the mood had initially soured at Ewood, with head of football operations, Rudy Gestede, plunging the future of playmaker, Todd Cantwell, into doubt.

With that being said, Football League World have looked at how much money Rovers would save per week if the former Norwich City and Rangers man is to find a desired new challenge in the summer transfer window.

Rudy Gestede drops Todd Cantwell, Blackburn Rovers contract bombshell

Cantwell completed his move to Blackburn on Deadline Day of the summer transfer window last season, penning a three-year contract lasting until June 2027 in the process.

At the time, Rovers were under the management of current Derby County boss, John Eustace, who looked to swiftly replace the goal and creative threat he had lost just two weeks' previous when Sammie Szmodics joined Ipswich Town.

The experienced playmaker certainly provided his new employers with a great deal of that, having won promotion twice at Carrow Road under the management of Daniel Farke back in the 2018/19 and 2020/21 Championship campaigns, as well as making 45 appearances in the Premier League and scoring six times in the process.

The versatile attacker was able to accumulate a total of three goals and seven assists in 37 league appearances during his first season with Rovers last term, during which the aforementioned Ismael replaced Eustace in rather controversial fashion 12 months ago.

Cantwell was then handed the club captaincy by Ismael at the beginning of this season, but hasn't been able to make the greatest of impacts as his team find themselves in the table's lower reaches heading towards the run-in.

And, whilst the club hope to extend his contract, which is set to expire next summer, the aforementioned Gestede dropped an almighty bombshell on the futures of Cantwell and goalkeeper, Balazs Toth, saying: “We have offered Todd Cantwell and Balazs Toth the highest wages we can in terms of our wage structure, but they are not interested. We simply can not compete.”

How much a Todd Cantwell departure would save Blackburn Rovers on weekly wages

It remains to be seen what suitors come in for Cantwell this summer after the aforementioned comments. However, his exit would certainly free up a fair amount of money on Rovers' wage bill.

According to Capology - a site which ESTIMATES earnings and wage bills - Rovers have the eighth-lowest wage bill in the Championship season at a weekly figure of £289,538 per week.

Given his reputation, it is perhaps no surprise to learn that Cantwell tops the payroll by some distance.

The 27-year-old is believed to be collecting a salary of £30,000 per week, which is twice as much as the second-highest earners at the club, with a £15,000 per week wage earned by Sean McLoughlin, Dapo Afolayan, Augustus Kargbo, Yuki Ohashi and Harry Pickering.

A sale of Cantwell would, therefore, reduce Rovers' overall wage bill to £259,538 per week, which would only be higher than the wage bills of QPR, Portsmouth, Charlton Athletic and Sheffield Wednesday.