Following his successful breakthrough into the side during the 2016-17, which was followed up by a starting berth during Rovers’ promotion-winning League 1 campaign, Ryan Nyambe has seen his efforts rewarded with a new contract until June 2021.
The young 21-year old full-back, who has been at the club since the age of 13, made his league debut in the 3-2 victory at home to Brentford in November 2016 and has never looked back in terms of relinquishing his starting role at right-back having seen himself become a fixture in the Rovers team, ever since Tony Mowbray’s arrival in February 2017.
Despite making his debut in the first-team in the League Cup during a 2-1 loss to Shrewsbury Town in August 2015, the Namibian defender has displayed his improvement as a player, both physically and technically, which was helped by his extended run in the side during the League 1 campaign of the 2017-18 season.
Whilst only being 21, the defender has close to a century of Rovers games under his belt at 97 first-team appearances including an extended run in the side of 29 games this season, following Rovers’ return to the second tier. In addition to displaying his quality as a right-sided full-back, Nyambe has displayed his versatility in adapting to different positions, having featured numerous times as a wing-back and as a centre-back for the Blues, under Tony Mowbray.
After penning his new deal, the right-back sat down to reflect on his new deal with the club’s media team, whilst also expressing his delight in the faith that his manager and the club had in him.
“It feels great to extend my stay at this club and I’m delighted to have gotten it done. It means a lot to me, to be honest, because I’ve been here since I was 13 and the place has really begun to feel like home. I think I’ve improved over the last few years as a player and as a person, which I’m delighted with, so I hope I can continue my development over the next few years. Thinking about the number of games I’ve played, in comparison to my age, is a bit surreal, but as a young player, you have to take your chance when it comes and thankfully I’ve gained experience off playing regularly in the first-team and I need to keep performing at a good standard in order to keep my place.
“In football, you get ups and downs, but I’ve had a good couple of years and have managed to break into the team. Obviously, things are getting tougher now because the quality of opposition we face is high, but that’s a challenge for me to keep improving in order to compete with the high-quality opponents. Of course, the highs in football are great, but it’s the lows where you really learn about yourself as a person and understand how to handle the different situations, which includes asking for help from teammates when you need it. Being a part of the promotion-winning side was special, especially after suffering the relegation the season before, but it really allowed me to grow and improve as a player.
“I think overall, we’ve done well this season considering we came from League 1 last season and the mid-table finish shows how well we’ve improved as a side in comparison to the year we went down. This is not an easy league, due to the tough teams in it, but we’ve done well to compete against the teams that are right at the top end, but with the teams coming down from the Premier League, that makes the league even harder to get out of. It would mean a lot for me to help get this club back into the Premier League. Maybe we can do it next season? You never know in football, but I hope it will happen soon because the club and fans deserve it.
“Gaining the experience, I have done, with nearly 100 appearances, gives me confidence going forwards in my career because it has allowed me to learn a lot and understand how to operate in different situations, which will help me when I reach my peak. There’s still a lot for me to learn and a lot more to come from me, I’m out doing extra sessions everyday in order to improve which will hopefully set me in good stead for the future. In terms of my goals for the future, I’d like to play as many games as I can, of course, but also, to improve my end product in order to help the team find the back of the net more often.”
