Blackburn Rovers 2024 signing is proving very shrewd despite potential risk: View | OneFootball

Another of Rovers' free transfer additions is starting to look like a bargain

It was a busy period in the transfer window for Blackburn Rovers over the course of the summer.

In total no fewer than nine new players were added to the first-team squad at Ewood Park, as the club looked to avoid a repeat of last season's Championship relegation battle.

Some of those additions, such as Yuki Ohashi and Makhtar Gueye, were unfamiliar additions from abroad, who had not previously been linked with a move to Lancashire.

However, in other cases, this summer saw Blackburn finally get deals done for players who they had looked to sign in the past, and one of those, was Danny Batth.

Ewood Park move fell through for Danny Batth in 2023

Last summer, it had been reported that Rovers had been working on a deal to bring the centre-back to Ewood Park, after it became evident he would be allowed to leave Sunderland.

However, it is thought that concerns within the board at the Lancashire club about giving a long-term contract to a player in his thirties, meant the deal fell through in 2023.

Instead, Batth spent the 2023/24 campaign on-loan with another Championship side, in the form of Norwich City.

But after being released by the Canaries at the end of last season, Blackburn finally made their move for the centre-back this time around.

Back in August, it was announced that Batth had joined John Eustace's side on a free transfer, signing a one-year deal that keeps him with the club until the end of this season.

Now, based on the circumstances around this signing, and how things have gone for Batth so far at Ewood Park, it could be argued that this is starting to look like a gamble that is paying off.

Danny Batth is impressing for Blackburn Rovers

When the centre-back first arrived at the club this summer, it did seem as though there was an element of risk attached to this deal.

Given they had been concerned enough by his age not to sign him last summer, it may have seemed strange for Blackburn to revisit this now, when he is a year older.

Combined with the fact that the now 34-year-old struggled for game time at Norwich last season - making just 18 appearances - some may have questioned if he could still do a job at this level.

So far though, it seems as though there was little need for anyone of a Blackburn persuasion to have had any concerns about Batth at all.

Prior to the September international break, the centre-back had made just two brief substitute appearances in the Championship for Rovers, with his only starts coming in the Carabao Cup.

In the two games since then however, Batth has been part of the starting XI, partnering Dom Hyam in the centre of defence, with Hayden Carter filling in for the injured Callum Brittain at right-back.

Since coming into the side for those league games, the 34-year-old has certainly not let anyone down, and instead looks to be an excellent addition to the squad.

The centre-back has already demonstrated his presence in the air with some towering performances that have been vital in dealing with long balls over the top, while his experience has also been on show.

While not the paciest, his reading of the game often seems to allow Batth to put himself in the right positions to compensate for a relative lack of speed, and decisively deal with threats that way instead.

Indeed, that experience he possesses certainly seems to have brought an element of calm to the Blackburn defence, which is just what Eustace wanted from the senior figures signed this summer, including the centre-back.

It is arguably also worth noting that the only two clean sheets Rovers have kept this season, have been in these last two league games in which Batth has come into the starting XI.

That too does perhaps highlight the positive impact the 34-year-old has had on the side since coming in from the start, given he has certainly played his part in both those games - a 3-0 win over Bristol City, and the goalless draw with Preston North End.

As a result, it now certainly seems to be the case that there was no need for anyone at Ewood Park to have too many concerns about Batth's situation when he arrived at the club, given he looks like being a more than reliable option to call upon across the course of this campaign.

Instead, given the defensive struggles of last season that contributed so much to their struggles in that campaign, some at Blackburn may be wishing they had taken the opportunity to sign the centre-back when it first came along back in the summer of 2023.