Brittain's contract situation is nothing new

Yahoo

15-07-2025

Callum Brittain's contract situation at Blackburn Rovers has taken a number of twists and turns since the final match of last season at Sheffield United.
Links with moves away have been followed by reports of positive talks about a new deal. But, following my conversation with Valerien Ismael on Saturday, it's pretty clear that he, right-back Brittain, sees his future somewhere else.
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"Callum decided not to play today, on his own," the Frenchman said.
"I spoke with him, I said clearly that I will pass this game but I hope from next week we have clarity because we cannot do that every week.
"Let's see what happens in the next few days, but some clubs are very interested, especially one, in Callum."
Ismael could have kept his cards close to his chest, but his communication couldn't have been clearer as to what was happening. He wants a resolution as soon as possible.
This situation isn't anything new. Blackburn Rovers have form for key players running down their deals and walking away for nothing. Tyrhys Dolan is currently a free agent after severing ties with the club this summer. Compensation will be the fee for him if he stays on these shores.
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Dom Hyam, Lewis Travis and Sondre Tronstad – three key players are going into their final season under contract and simply can't be allowed to do the same as Dolan, Andi Weimann, Danny Batth, Ben Brereton-Diaz, Joe Rothwell, Ryan Nyambe and Darragh Lenihan have since 2022.
The question is… could Blackburn be more proactive when a player has 18 months to two years remaining? They probably could. But the player holds the cards with a year to go.
Callum Brittain will be 28 by the end of next season; can anyone begrudge him the opportunity of a bumper contract for his peak years?
Ruling himself out of last weekend's friendly at Accrington hasn't gone down particularly well with some supporters who believe that while he's on the payroll, he should be available.
But surely every supporter would prefer a fully committed player to be selected, and an asset who wants away should be protected from injury while the clubs thrash out a fee.