Blackburn Rovers have boosted their ranks and continued their fine player trading partnership with Brighton and Hove Albion, after it was today announced that Swedish international midfielder, Yasin Ayari, would spend the rest of the campaign on loan in East Lancashire.
Ayari, who spent the first-half of the campaign on loan at Coventry City, arrives at Ewood Park knowing a lot about the second division and Rovers’ own squad, having faced them when Mark Robins’ side beat Rovers, 1-0, back in early October.
The versatile midfielder, who has been capped by Sweden twice, despite previously being eligible to play for Tunisia and Morocco through descent, arrives at Ewood Park looking to further establish himself out on loan and gain experience in order to challenge in Brighton’s very competitive squad upon his return to the South Coast.
Despite his tender age, Ayari has been playing senior football since the age of 17, having emerged from AIK’s youth academy to establish himself in the first-team at the Stockholm-based side. Having emerged into the first-team still a teenager, Ayari was drip-fed into the first-team when he made his debut in the winter of 2020. In his first full season as a professional, the youngster was mainly limited to games off the bench, but it was 2022’s Allsvenskan campaign that saw him burst into life as he played in 24 of the 30 available league games, including a handful of appearances in the UEFA Europa Conference League qualifying rounds, netting four times and assisting twice, domestically as AIK narrowly missed out on the chance to play European football by a point.
Whilst AIK failed to hit their domestic objectives, Ayari was not short of suitors as he captured the eye with impressive, controlling midfield performances which is what led to Brighton securing his services towards the end of January 2023, for around £5m.
Although he was unable to break into Brighton’s impressive first-team as they charged towards continental football under the stewardship of the impressive Roberto de Zerbi, Ayari was afforded a chance to play for the Seagulls’ first-team after impressing in their youth setup. After making his debut for de Zerbi’s side as a late change in their 5-0 FA Cup Quarter-Final win over Grimsby Town in March, the midfielder’s Premier League debut soon followed a few weeks later as he made a cameo in a victory over Bournemouth. This appearance was soon followed by two more Premier League outings as he gained vital experience at the top level in a 6-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers, before his first start at the top saw him play 45 minutes in a final day 2-1 defeat at Villa Park against Unai Emery’s equally impressive Aston Villa.
With Brighton keep to develop their investment, despite their increase in game time due to qualification for the Europa League, the Seagulls decided the creative midfielder would be best served playing week-in-week-out in a competitive division, which is why Coventry City were chosen as his next destination, as Mark Robins was given the chance to polish a Brighton diamond. The Swede was afforded the chance to shine in a tough division however despite playing ten successive games, both from the start – as he did against Rovers – or from the bench, he soon found game time limited as the season approached the festive period, having been an unused substitute for all but one December fixture and City’s 3-1 win away at Middlesbrough on New Year’s Day. Despite having his deal at the Coventry Building Society Arena cut short a few days ago, he left the Midlands having netted one goal for the Sky Blues, which was the opener in an eventual 1-1 draw at home to Huddersfield Town.
On the international stage, Ayari had always insisted on committing his international future to the Scandinavian nation, having played in the yellow and blue throughout his national youth career. After making 20 appearances between the under-16s and under-21s, netting three and assisting five, Ayari made his senior Swedish debut – alongside Leopold Wahlstedt – in a 2-1 friendly win against Finland on 10th January 2023. He only had to wait a couple of days for his next outing in yellow and blue when he came off the bench to help his nation beat Iceland, 2-1 – a game in which Wahlstedt was an unused substitute for the hosts and Arnór Sigurðsson wasn’t in the visitor’s matchday squad.
After putting pen-to-paper on his temporary switch to East Lancashire, Ayari took some time to sit down with RoversTV to reflect on his venture up north:
“I’m really happy (to make the move) and I can’t wait to play in front of the fans.
“I’ve seen how well the team have been playing and I really like how they play. I think it suits me really well and is the type of game I like to play. I have come on loan to get the minutes, get the experience and the intensity. coming to this club is a bonus.
“England’s a football-loving country and the football here has developed a lot, with a lot of teams playing shorter passes and playing possession-based football, which is my kind of style.
“I like possession, I like to have the ball and enjoy creating chances, getting assists and scoring goals. I love playing forward and I’d rather play forward and lose the ball than play backwards. My style is offensive midfield and getting into the final third.
“The target is to try and win the games we have left and to try to get some good performances.
“One of the main reasons I came here was the manager. I know him from his time at Malmö and he’s come here and brought his playing style with him. It’s great to have him as a coach.”
Rovers’ Director of Football, Gregg Broughton was also approached for comment on the deal, saying: “We are delighted to make Yasin the first signing of the January transfer window.
“He had two seasons playing senior football for AIK in Sweden, before joining Brighton last January and going on to make his Premier League debut. We are delighted that they have allowed him to become their fourth player in recent years to join Blackburn Rovers on loan.
“As with all Brighton players, Yasin has good technical and physical attributes along with a great character. His ability to play in any of the midfield roles gives us good depth and competition in that area for the second half of the season.
“We look forward to seeing Yasin in our blue-and-white shirt over the coming weeks and months.”
Welcome, Yasin! ??
