Balazs Toth of Blackburn Rovers is a target for reigning Scottish Premiership winners Celtic, although the two teams’ valuations are very different.

Blackburn, who have been among the least active teams in the division in terms of both arrivals and departures, will start their Championship campaign today evening when they go to Wolves, who were just demoted.

Due in large part to the necessity of selling players in the last year of their contracts, the Rovers team that placed seventh the previous season was severely damaged.

Lewis Travis, Dom Hyam, and Callum Brittain were all sold to prevent losing them for free this summer. Sondre Tronstad, who had not been sold the previous year, did depart at the end of his contract.

Celtic is interested in Blackburn Rovers goalkeeper Balazs Toth, who is nearing the end of his contract.

Goalie Toth’s contract is about to expire, therefore Blackburn will have contract deja vu this summer. Alan Nixon stated today that Celtic is interested in bringing the Hungarian international north of the border after reporting in late July that he had turned down a fresh approach.

Crucially, though, the report notes that the two parties’ valuations differ significantly, with Rovers want between £3 and £4 million for his services.

After Kasper Schmeichel had to retire at the end of the previous season due to injury, the SPL giants are searching for a new number one this summer. This season, Finnish goalkeeper Viljami Sinsalo has started both league games, but it appears Martin O’Neill is eager to add one more.

The Hoops are unwilling to spend a lot of money on a new goalkeeper, even if they are scheduled to sell Arne Engels to West Ham United for a substantial sum. Nixon said they will probably make an offer with incentives before the window shuts, but they probably won’t go as high as £3 million if a proposal was made.

Blackburn Rovers supporters’ responses to Balazs Update on the Toth transfer

There isn’t much hope for selling Blackburn’s star player given how passive they have been in the transfer market thus far and the overall perception of the club regarding the Venky’s ownership reinvesting money into the squad.

Balazs Toth’s Championship statistics for 2025–2026

Appearances

34.

spotless sheets

8

Savings for every 90

2.85

Save a portion of

69.3%

Precise long balls

172.We won’t replace him when he reaches the end of the window! “Guaranteed,” a Rovers supporter stated, implying that although the team will want to secure the best deal, doing so will ultimately put them in a far riskier situation.

When we sell him, he will remain the same. Do we receive the funds to try to keep up by reinvesting them? We won’t hold our breath. I hope this team disproves me, but urgent assistance is required. IMO, a minimum of 3/4 players. Another said, “GK, LB, CM, attacker,” clearly concerned about their odds of surviving given the window’s lack of activity.

Blackburn was scheduled to start at Wolves little over eight hours after the news was made public, which caused some annoyance regarding the piece’s timing. Regardless of Toth’s contract status, Celtic’s interest may cause him to decline to play in order to prevent possible harm.

Blackburn Rovers will want the Balazs Toth transfer controversy resolved quickly.

The recruitment team at Ewood Park will have plenty of time to find a replacement, even though Blackburn won’t be prepared to accept any bid that comes in for Toth in order to avoid losing him for free next summer.

One of the few bright spots in an otherwise disastrous season was Toth’s ascent into the starting eleven at the expense of Aynsley Pears, a seasoned shot-stopper at the level who has previously been Rovers’ first choice.

The 28-year-old averaged just under three saves per game, avoided as many goals as his anticipated goals against showed he should have and earned Player’s Player of the Year last year — so was popular amongst his teammates, too.

And despite the hubbub surrounding his contract status, Tony Mowbray picked him in between the sticks for their EFL Cup first-round win against Burton Albion, suggesting he still sees him as first choice.

Losing Toth would mean yet another position that needs upgrading at Ewood Park this summer, and with time running out in the window, they’ll need to know where they are in terms of needing to get another shot-stopper in sooner rather than later.