ROVERS LAUNCHED RYAN BID
BLACKBURN Rovers approached Brighton over the signing of Ryan Longman before his Hull City move was made permanent in January.
That is according to the Lancashire Telegraph who claimed that he was earmarked as a potential belated replacement for the departed Adam Armstrong who had left for Southampton.
At the time, Tony Mowbray’s side were in the midst of a promotion push but their lack of cover for Ben Brereton-diaz proved their downfall. An injury to the Chile international, as well as Bradley Dack’s long-term absence, exposed their thin squad and brought an end to their hopes of a return to the Premier League.
Meanwhile, Longman was playing a key role in City’s battle to avoid relegation, scoring four league goals and adding four assists throughout the season after his initial loan was made permanent.
The fee paid by the Tigers to Brighton was understood to be around £700,000.
Given Rovers were given £15m for Armstrong, they would have likely been able to compete financially with City for Longman’s signature.
Although, on the back of a good start to life at the MKM Stadium, it is easy to see why he stayed.
The young winger may have struggled to kick on after a strong first half of the campaign but, after largely playing at wing-back, his drop in form wasn’t necessarily his own fault.
At just 21 years old, he still has plenty of development ahead of him. If the glimpses of quality he showed earlier in the season are anything to go by, Longman can certainly play a key part for the Tigers in the years to come.