With Rovers’ preparations for the 2018-19 Championship season fully underway, mainly in the form of friendlies being announced alongside a training & bonding trip to Austria, the Blues have today announced their first new signing of the summer, which comes in the form of former Oxford United midfielder, Joe Rothwell.
The 23-year old, joins Rovers on a three-year deal, for an undisclosed fee in order to avoid a tribunal, as the player is under 24. With Rothwell still in the early stages of his career, despite spending 2 years at Oxford United, following a 15-year stint on Manchester United’s books which saw Rothwell capture back-to-back u21 Premier League titles, both he and manager Tony Mowbray, believe that he has a lot to offer this young, but talented Rovers side.
The midfielder – who has been profiled as a box-to-box player – has a plethora of League 1 experience, having played in over 73 games for both Oxford and Barnsley during a 2015-16 loan spell. However, despite playing in only 3 games during a 2014-15 loan spell at Blackpool in the Championship, Rothwell will surely be keen to prove himself to be a key player – and a shrewd acquisition – in the second tier of English football, whilst at Ewood Park.
In terms of his numbers for the 2017-18 season just gone, the 23-year old managed to bag 6 goals and 5 assists in all competitions in a struggling Oxford United side, which saw him play 13 of his 41 games, out of his comfort zone, on the wing for the U’s, despite a majority of his goals or assists coming after he was deployed centrally.
After penning his deal, like Danny Graham and Craig Conway before him, Rothwell released a quick video, via Rovers’ Twitter account, detailing his delight at joining the club; “I’m delighted to have signed for Blackburn Rovers and I can’t wait to meet all the fans and the lads out in Austria on Sunday.”
With his social media introduction out the way, the 23-year old sat down with the clubs’ media team for a proper conversation regarding his signing;
“I’m thrilled to finally have the deal done and dusted. After learning of the clubs’ interest in January, I immediately knew that, this was where I wanted to play my football. The aims and goals of the manager were both main reasons as to why I was so eager to sign for Blackburn Rovers. From the first conversation I had with him, I knew that he loved his football and understood it’s intricacies, which was another factor that drew me in!”
Following the capture of his patiently scouted target, Tony Mowbray also sat down with the clubs’ media team and discussed his delight at securing Rothwell’s services, so early in the summer.
“Joe’s had a good upbringing at Manchester United and was able to ignite his career by going away at performing at Oxford United in a tough league. He caught my eye when we went away to Oxford and although we were able to come away with the victory, he caused us a lot of problems with his ability to drive forwards with the ball and we wanted to secure his services in order to add such qualities to what we’ve already got.
He’s still a young lad who can add to his game in certain areas and I’m sure that, at such a big club like Blackburn Rovers, he can make his mark and help us achieve our goals.”
