Among all the transfer deadline day drama, Blackburn Rovers parted ways with manager Valerien Ismael.

The previous year under the French manager had been overshadowed by off-field issues, making his job extremely tough.

His arrival came after John Eustace left for Derby County, a club fighting relegation at the time, despite Blackburn’s position in the top six. Then Rovers lost the major core of players who helped them reach the play-offs, and the club has suffered greatly this season as a result.

Blackburn were winless in eight games, including a 1-0 home loss to Hull City on Saturday, which left Ismael’s team three points away of safety, and with only 11 wins in his 43 league games in charge, a move comes as no surprise.

Now the focus is on finding a suitable replacement, and Alan Nixon has said that former Huddersfield Town and, most recently, Norwich City manager David Wagner is in line to fill the empty position.

Wagner has not been in charge since he was fired by Norwich City in May 2024 after a convincing play-off semi-final loss to Leeds. Despite finishing in the top six, the German manager never won over Norwich fans with his pragmatic style of play.

As a result, FLW’s Blackburn fan analyst, Simon Middlehurst, is skeptical of stories associating his team with Wagner, claiming that he will not be a significant improvement over Valerien Ismael’s style of play.

Blackburn Rovers fan pundit denies David Wagner’s links

Middlehurst opposes David Wagner’s appointment as manager of Blackburn Rovers, citing his dismissal from Norwich after a lackluster 16-month tenure.”It’s a difficult one, because David Wagner didn’t have the best record at Norwich, and coming off of being sacked, I don’t think he’s a good appointment for Blackburn fans,” he remarked.Blackburn requires a manager with a proven track record of success.”It’s a difficult ask at the moment, but I think David Wagner has a bad record at Norwich. Coming to Blackburn would be like replacing one bad egg with another.”So, I don’t believe Wagner would be a good fit.”

David Wagner may be the greatest option for Blackburn Rovers in its survival bid.

David Wagner hasn’t been in frontline management in well over a year, and he went on record this summer saying he was losing enthusiasm and enjoyment as a manager, but is loving his position as Head of Youth Development at RB Leipzig.

However, if Blackburn enticed him out of management, the Ewood Park club could do far worse than him.

Norwich fans rejected Wagner’s ideals, mostly because they believed that a team with Josh Sargent, Borja Sainz, Jonathan Rowe, and Gabriel Sara should have played more exciting attacking football.

With Blackburn in the throes of a relegation battle, having lost far more games than they have won at home this season, they want a points-first attitude, and the former Canaries manager could be one of the finest alternatives available right now.

However, Valerien Ismael’s committed, hardworking attitude had failed at Blackburn, and there may be some concerns that, as Middlehurst stated, “one bad egg for another” when it comes to managerial replacement.

However, considering the current state of events off the pitch at Ewood Park, as well as the fact that the team is failing to score enough points on the play, it is not the most appealing place for a manager to go right now.

Time will tell who will succeed Valerien Ismael. If it’s David Wagner, perhaps a new perspective on a realistic approach might help Blackburn finish outside the drop zone.