Over the weekend, Rovers announced that upcoming hot-shot, Harry Leonard, had extended his contract at the club for another four years, keeping him at Ewood Park until 2027!
The youth academy graduate, who was handed his first taste of first-team football by Jon Dahl Tomasson, during the closing stages of 2022-23, has certainly caught the eye of the Danish Head Coach, having been named in nine first-team games last season, playing in four.
Having progressed from within the club’s academy, after joining the under-10s, the attacker will no doubt be oozing with pride following his fresh terms but will be single-minded on trying to build on his positive outings thus far, to try and cement himself as a key attacking asset, in a team that has struggled for consistent goalscoring.
A prolific goalscorer at under-21s level, Leonard has already bagged three during pre-season ahead of 2023-24, with strikes against TSV Hartberg, Barnsley and La Liga outfit, Girona, to his name. With Leonard becoming the 22nd academy graduate – both in the first-team and within the youth ranks – to pen a new deal since the arrival of Jon Dahl Tomasson and Gregg Broughton, it offers further encouragement and praise for both, the academy staff and future Rovers prospects that the pathways for development are available.
After signing on the dotted line, Leonard sat down with RoversTV to reflect on such a monumental career milestone:
“I’m delighted to know that I’m going to be here for the next four years, I’m buzzing.
“What’s going on at the club with the gaffer giving young lads chances, I think this is the best place for me to be. It’s a massive motivation and you have to take those opportunities when they’re given to you. To know I could get those opportunities at the club is massive for me.
“I really appreciate the trust the club has put in me and the chances I’ve had so far last season and in pre-season, I’ve always wanted to repay that. I’ve been playing with some of the lads since I was nine, 10 and 11. I want to play my part more this season in the first-team with them, that’s my aim.”
Congratulations, Harry!
