Blackburn Rovers' New CEO Steve Curwood on Chaotic Transfer Window

Blackburn Rovers’ new chief executive Steve Curwood did not try to sugar-coat it.

“Everyone is frustrated,” he admitted, as he fronted up to a fanbase angry at a transfer window that promised plenty and delivered too little.

Four signings. Seven departures. Three deadline-day deals that collapsed. For a Championship club trying to reset under a returning Tony Mowbray, that is a thin return and a risky hand.

Deals on the table, deals lost

Curwood insisted the club had not lacked ambition or backing.

“Deals were on the table,” he told BBC Radio Lancashire. “Deals were agreed with players and clubs.” Then came the sting. “We were gazumped at the last minute on a couple of deals, and one was a foreign one which took a bit more time than you would anticipate.”

The modern transfer market is ruthless. Blackburn found that out the hard way.

BBC Radio Lancashire understands two of the late collapses involved Reo Hatate, who ultimately joined Burnley, and Brian De Keersmaecker, who went to Bristol City. Targets identified, talks advanced, only for rivals to steal in and the clock to run down.

Curwood’s verdict on the club’s intent was firm: “The investment has been there. There hasn't been a reluctance (from the board). There has been collaboration throughout the process. I think at the final hurdle we haven't been able to get them over the line.”

That final hurdle is exactly where the anger sits. Mowbray wanted “that extra little bit of something” and did not get it.

A chaotic summer and a late appointment

Curwood did not shy away from describing the window as “chaotic”. He pointed straight at the timing of Mowbray’s appointment and a run of injuries as key reasons why the club always felt half a step behind.

“Ideally your manager will be in by the start of May to work out where are we going for next year,” he said. Instead, Blackburn’s summer was shaped by delay and uncertainty.

Michael O’Neill had kept Rovers in the Championship last season while combining the job with his Northern Ireland role. He then turned down the chance to take the Ewood Park post permanently in mid-May. Only on 5 June did the club turn back to Mowbray.

That lost month matters. Squads are shaped early, the best free transfers and realistic loans move quickly, and Blackburn were still working out who would be in the dugout.

“So that timeline has been constrained somewhat, and then conflated by injuries,” Curwood said. The club had to decide: move early for safer, more attainable options, or wait and gamble on first-choice targets.

“If you want to do your deals early, maybe you can't go after the best players sometimes,” he explained. “You've got to either wait and go for target number one with this risk, or cement one in the building because we know we can get him, like Jayden Fevrier for example.”

The choice was clear. Blackburn chose to chase the players Mowbray really wanted. The risk came home to roost on deadline day.

“Was it the wrong thing to do to push for the specific players Tony wanted? These things happen when you try to be specific, but none of us want to just bring in players to add bodies in the building.”

The principle is sound. The execution left Mowbray short.

A trimmed squad and big calls

If the incoming business felt light, the outgoings did not. Seven players left in the summer. In isolation, that is a reset. Without the full slate of replacements, it looks like a gamble.

Curwood, though, stood by those decisions.

“You've got to allow the manager to make certain decisions,” he said. “The squad list was top-heavy. Certain players needed game-time, like George Pratt going to Bradford.”

Blackburn did at least stand firm on several assets. BBC Radio Lancashire understands they turned down offers for Ryoya Morishita, Sean McLoughlin, Balasz Toth, Yuki Ohashi and Ryan Alebiosu. In a market where they lost out on targets, they were not prepared to weaken the core they already had.

That resolve may prove important if injuries bite again or form dips. Right now, it does little to soften the sense of a window that left the manager wanting and the supporters worried.

A whirlwind start and a promise

Curwood himself is still unpacking his boxes. The 54-year-old arrived from League Two side Fleetwood Town just two months ago and walked straight into a storm.

“It's been a whirlwind since I arrived – with a transfer window, an administrator going to another club, and a senior physiotherapist leaving,” he said. Off the pitch, the club has been shifting as much as on it.

He has set himself a short-term benchmark.

“The first 90 days will give me time to reflect and bring some of the processes this club need to improve where we are,” he said. The message is that structure, not just spending, has to change.

Curwood’s final note carried a quiet conviction rather than an apology.

“We'll be in a very different position moving into the next window, and beyond that.”

Blackburn fans have heard promises before. The next few months will show whether this chaotic window was a painful one-off – or a warning of something deeper.