With the new season on the horizon, and the transfer window set to shut on 8th August, Rovers have finalised their second outgoing of the window, as Joe Nuttall swapped East Lancashire for West, after completing a permanent transfer to League One side, Blackpool for an undisclosed fee.
The 6ft forward, initially made the switch to Ewood Park in the summer of 2017, following a successful trial period with the under-23s. After penning an initial deal, the striker settled in quickly in the youth team, netting an impressive 14 goals in 15 games during the 2017-18 Premier League 2 season, which saw Rovers storm to the Division 2 title, and earn promotion to Division 1.
Whilst his main involvement at Ewood Park came with the development squad, Nuttall sporadically appeared for the first-team, notching several goals, both in League One and in the Championship, which proved vital for Rovers at various stages of their campaigns. After notching his first first-team goal against Stoke City’s under-23s in the EFL Trophy, the forward then scored his first league goal in a 2-2 home draw against Fleetwood Town after coming off the bench, before grabbing Rovers’ fourth goal in a 4-2 away victory at Oxford United.
From then on, Nuttall’s irregular appearances for the first-team stagnated following the arrival of Ben Brereton in the summer of 2018, however Nuttall still managed to impress off the bench in the 2018-19 Championship season, grabbing goals away at Millwall and at home to Ipswich Town as he helped consolidate wins for Rovers in both games.
Despite his exploits off the bench, Nuttall eventually saw himself fall down the pecking order, following the arrivals of Ben Brereton and Sam Gallagher and with the striker spot already being occupied by Danny Graham, with Adam Armstrong a potentially understudy, as well as the aforementioned pair, this permanent move for Nuttall offers him the opportunity to kick on in his career, as well as offer Rovers some incoming funds.
