Key Blackburn Rovers figure set to make surprise Ewood Park exit | OneFootball

Blackburn Rovers Head of Recruitment John Park is set to leave the club after just a few months in the role.

Blackburn Rovers head of recruitment John Park is reportedly set to make a shock exit from the club.

That's according to journalist Alan Nixon, who claims that Park has resigned just over five months after returning to his role as recruitment chief at Ewood Park.

Park previously headed up Blackburn's recruitment department during the 2021-22 season, but he left the club following the departure of Tony Mowbray at the end of the campaign.

He reunited with Mowbray at Birmingham City earlier this year, but after the 60-year-old was forced to step down from his position due to health reasons, Park also departed St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park and returned to Lancashire.

Park may have arrived at Blackburn relatively late in the summer, but he wasted no time in getting to work, and he oversaw a number of impressive signings during the transfer window.

Despite many tipping Rovers for another relegation battle, it has been a strong start to the season for John Eustace's new-look team, and they currently sit ninth in the table, just three points from the play-off places.

John Park set to leave Blackburn Rovers

Park is a vastly experienced football operator, having previously held roles at Celtic, Rangers, Hibernian, Motherwell, Maccabi Haifa in Israel, Vancouver Whitecaps, Legia Warsaw and Birmingham, and he expressed his excitement at returning to Ewood Park after his appointment was announced in June.

"I’m so delighted to be back," Park told the club's official website.

"It was a club that was close to my heart when I left and I’ve always kept in touch with the people at the club, so I’m really looking forward to the challenge of trying to put another team together.

"I enjoyed it immensely first time around. I loved the area and I loved the people. The staff were really kind to me and I felt a good affinity with everyone here, and I think that’s what endeared me to come back.

"There’s a fresh start and a fresh impetus going forward, with different people and different ideas and different mentalities on the game, so hopefully by the end of the summer transfer window we can conjure up a few diamonds and see where it takes us."

However, despite his excellent work in the transfer market, Nixon claims that there have been "power struggles" between top officials at the club in recent months, with the "rapid rise of Rudy Gestede and the arrival of Adam Owen" making the "set up appear top heavy".

With chief executive Steve Waggott and Venky's advisor Suhail Pascha also on the board, it seems that Park has made the decision to walk away from his role.

John Park exit is a big blow for John Eustace

There is no doubt that Park's sudden departure from Ewood Park is a surprise, and news of his exit will be disappointing for Eustace.

Recruitment had been a huge problem for Blackburn in recent years, but the club's activity in the transfer market improved significantly after Park's return, and the new signings he oversaw in the summer mitigated the loss of the likes of Sammie Szmodics and Sam Gallagher.

With ongoing off-field issues at the club, having experienced football operators like Park on the board is crucial for Rovers, so Eustace will be incredibly frustrated to see him move on.

Gestede is widely considered to have been a strong addition to the Blackburn hierarchy since joining in the summer, so he could potentially step into Park's role, but supporters will be concerned that previous recruitment problems could now come to the surface again.