Blackburn appoint AC Milan legend Jon Dahl Tomasson as new manager to replace Tony Mowbray

BLACKBURN ROVERS have appointed AC Milan legend Jon Dahl Tomasson as their new manager to replace Tony Mowbray

The 45-year-old former Danish striker, who struggled in the Premier League with Newcastle before going on to lift the Champions League in Italy, has penned a three-year contract at the Championship club.

The Ewood Park outfit, who missed out on the play-offs after spending much of the campaign in the top six, will officially unveil him later this week.

Tomasson replaces Tony Mowbray in the dug-out at Rovers and has appointed assistant coach Remy Reijnierse and fitness director Ben Rosen to his staff. 

Meanwhile, David Lowe, Ben Benson and Damien Johnson will all retain their current positions at the club.

Tomasson represented Heerenveen, Newcastle, Feyenoord, AC Milan, VfB Stuttgart and Villarreal during his playing days and scored a record 52 goals in 112 caps for Denmark.

He went on to have stints coaching at Dutch clubs Excelsior and Roda JC prior to taking up assistant manager roles with Vitesse Arnhem and his country.

The ex-forward then took charge of Malmo FF in January 2020 and led the Swedish club to successive Allsvenskan league titles, as well as to the group stages of the Champions League.

Rovers CEO Steve Waggott said: “It has been a long process, but we are really pleased to have eventually secured the services of such a young and ambitious coach in Jon.

“His work around developing players, along with demanding a culture of giving everything to the club, is exactly what we need at this juncture.

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“His passion, purpose and humility shone through in his interviews and we obviously have high hopes that he will build on the platform that has been established over the last five years.

“Jon will work closely with Gregg Broughton, myself and the Board in what we all hope will be an exciting chapter in the club’s history.”

Recently-appointed Director of Football Gregg Broughton, who helped Norwegian club Bodo/Glimt win successive Norwegian titles, added: "In Jon Dahl Thomasson, we have been able to recruit a Head Coach who fits perfectly with the direction that Blackburn Rovers wants to go in.

“Whilst considering how we want to build the club, how we want our teams to play and how we want to recruit and develop players, Jon was the standout candidate.”

Tomasson said: “Since leaving Malmo I’ve been looking for the right opportunity and had a lot of options and I’m really proud to be here.”

But he faces a tough task with owners Venky’s believed to have slashed Rovers’ budget and the new boss may have as little as £3m to spend on new players due to the club’s debt being over £100m.

Chile sensation Ben Brereton Diaz, last season’s top scorer, is likely to be sold if a £20m-plus offer comes in.

Meanwhile skipper Darragh Lenihan and fellow defender Ryan Nyambe are considering new offers but seven players have been released.