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Brittain refuses new Blackburn contract offerpublished at 13:16 BST 14 July
13:16 BST 14 July
Media caption,
'Brittain didn't accept our offer'- Blackburn boss Ismael
Blackburn Rovers boss Valerien Ismael has confirmed that defender Callum Brittain has rejected the club's offer of a new contract.
Brittain has one year left on his current contract but has been linked with a move away from the club despite Ismael being keen on keeping the 27-year-old.
"He didn't accept our offer," Ismael told BBC Radio Lancashire.
"If [the club] want Callum, they have to come back with a better offer. It's not what I want to do to see him leaving, he's a very important player."
The defender refused to take part in Rovers' friendly against Accrington Stanley on Saturday, with Ismael confirming after the match that the side are receiving particular interest from another club for his signature.
"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."
Rankin-Costello takes on a new challengepublished at 11:02 BST 14 July
11:02 BST 14 July
Andy Bayes BBC Radio Lancashire sports editor
Image source, Getty Images
Joe Rankin-Costello will have been a dream for the past four bosses to have sat in the Blackburn Rovers hot seat.
An injury or suspension in a number of positions, and he'd be asked to fill it.
If I had a pound for how many times in the last 25 years that a player would tell me, "I'll play wherever the manager wants me to play," I'd be a very wealthy man. It's the stock answer, really, for any player to give; only occasionally will someone with a strong personality tell you how they really feel.
It's only natural that at 25 years of age the lure of a new challenge has led him to join Charlton Athletic, and where he plays for them will interest a lot of people who follow Rovers.
An academy graduate, Rankin-Costello can play central midfield, as a number ten, or wide in a front three on either side – not to mention at right-back where he undoubtedly produced his best form under Jon Dahl Tomasson.
He started the 2023-24 season as first choice at right-back after a sparkling second half to the previous campaign. And, although squad numbers barely resemble playing positions these days, a player wearing 11 at right-back tells you all you need to know.
Standout displays at Huddersfield Town and QPR showed him at his very best - comfortable in possession, spending 70% of the match in the opposition half rather than as an orthodox right-back - it was the position for him in a Tomasson system that brought the best out of him.
Yes, there were injuries that hampered his progress, and the emergence of Callum Brittain as one of the championship's best right-backs has meant that he's really only been a deputy under John Eustace and Valerien Ismael. He started last season wide on the right after finishing the previous campaign as a holding midfielder.
But when does versatility cost a player? It does when he isn't first choice in any position. Then when a chance comes due to the absence of someone else, a high-level performance is expected.
Given his age, he should have more than 132 senior appearances across all competitions. His talent should dictate that. He'll not have too many issues settling in with Thomas Kaminski and Amari'i Bell (new arrivals at The Valley), both being former Rovers team-mates.
On paper, the deal looks a good one for all parties. Rovers get cash for someone surplus to requirements; Charlton get a player with well over 100 championship appearances; and the player himself will get a change of scenery and a brand new challenge to kick-start a career that badly needs it.
Gossip: Rovers eye teenage hot-shotpublished at 10:21 BST 8 July
10:21 BST 8 July
Blackburn have joined Premier League pair Wolves and Burnley in the race for 18-year-old English striker Devine Samuel, who has turned down a new contract at Leyton Orient. (Birmingham World, external)
Gossip: Blackburn in battle to sign Kapuadipublished at 11:19 BST 18 June
11:19 BST 18 June
Blackburn Rovers have identified Polish side Legia Warsaw's centre-back Steve Kapuadi as a transfer target but face competition from Wolves and German Bundesliga club Union Berlin for the 27-year-old DR Congo international. (Goal Poland - in Polish), external
Keepers Toth and O'Leary make international debutspublished at 10:51 BST 11 June
10:51 BST 11 June
Image source, Getty Images
Blackburn Rovers' Balazs Toth and fellow goalkeeper Max O'Leary of Bristol City both made their international debuts between the posts on Tuesday.
Toth played the first 58 minutes for Hungary during their 2-1 victory over Azerbaijan before being replaced by Al-Fateh's Peter Szappanos.
O'Leary kept a clean sheet for Republic of Ireland during his first appearance for his country in a goalless draw against Luxembourg.
Meanwhile, West Bromwich Albion midfielder Isaac Price scored the winner for Northern Ireland with a curled effort from just outside the box in their 1-0 victory over Iceland.
Lions up, Watford down? The 2025 Championship tablepublished at 12:37 BST 10 June
12:37 BST 10 June
Ben Ashton BBC Sport England
Image source, Getty Images
Watford are getting relegated, Plymouth are staying up, Millwall are in the play-offs and Portsmouth are also battling for a top-six spot.
Does something sound a bit off? Well, that's what would have happened if the Championship season started on 1 January.
Here's a look at the 2025 calendar year table, showing who the form sides were in the second half of the season and who went into freefall.
Perhaps the most notable difference between the actual final top six and the 2025 version is that Millwall would be in the play-offs and Premier League-bound Sunderland would not.
Burnley and Leeds still comfortably occupy the automatic promotion spots, albeit the Clarets would be unbeaten at the top of the pile with the Whites in second.
Coventry improved significantly after Frank Lampard replaced Mark Robins and are third over the course of the year.
The Sky Blues would instead be pitted against Bristol City in the play-off semi-final as opposed to Sunderland. Who knows what difference that would have made to their promotion bid...
Image source, Rex Features
Portsmouth - who spent much of the season battling relegation and only secured their Championship safety with two games to spare - are seventh and just one point outside a play-off spot.
Pompey sit above Sunderland, who lost their final five games of the season and are down in eighth.
The data perhaps shows just how long Regis Le Bris' side effectively had a play-off spot sewn up before their victory at Wembley against Sheffield United to claim promotion.
Relegation battlers Oxford find themselves seven places higher than where they actually finished in the 2024-25 campaign (17th), reflecting the good work done by Gary Rowett after he took over as boss from Des Buckingham.
Image source, Rex Features
Plymouth would have survived comfortably had the season begun in January 2025, showing a significant uptick after Miron Muslic replaced Wayne Rooney at the helm.
Middlesbrough tailed off significantly in the second half of the season, underpinning why they missed out on the play-offs. It was a drop off that ultimately cost Michael Carrick his job as head coach.
Norwich City conceded more goals (32) than any other side in 2025, which counteracted the hard work they'd done at the other end, having been the fourth top scorers (31) since the turn of the year.
Image source, Rex Features
Watford had a disappointing 2025, winning just five of their 23 games and losing 13 to finish bottom of the calendar year table.
The Hornets had the joint-worst goal difference along with Cardiff (-10) and head coach Tom Cleverley was sacked following the end of the season.
Preston and Cardiff won the fewest games of any side in 2025 (4), which cost the Bluebirds their Championship status and almost led to the Lilywhites dropping into League One as they avoided relegation by one point.
Paul Heckingbottom's side would be down if only games this year were counted.
Luton and Derby scored the fewest goals in 2025 (19) and attacking output was an issue that plagued both sides throughout the entire campaign.
It had major consequences for the Hatters with back-to-back relegations, while the Rams survived by a point - and only on goal difference in the yearly table.
Hirakawa makes Japan debut and Ohashi first startpublished at 10:15 BST 6 June
10:15 BST 6 June
Image source, Getty Images
Bristol City forward Yu Hirakawa made his international debut for Japan on Thursday during their 1-0 World Cup qualifying loss against Australia.
The 24-year-old earned his first senior call-up in May and was put straight into the starting line-up for his country, who have already qualified for the 2026 finals.
The game also marked a first Japan start for Blackburn Rovers forward Yuki Ohashi.
Ohashi led the side up top while Hirakawa was utilised in midfield, but Australia's Aziz Behich scored a 90th-minute winner to hand Japan their first qualifying defeat.
The Championship's improvement table for 2024-25published at 13:46 BST 5 June
13:46 BST 5 June
Ben Ashton BBC Sport England
Image source, Getty Images
The 2024-25 Championship season might be over but there are many ways to analyse and reflect on the campaign that has gone before us.
Not every club can go up but if there are signs a team is moving in the right direction, it can still be considered good progress - or quite the opposite if things are on the slide.
Here is a look at how each of the 18 sides who were in the Championship for the past two seasons got on points wise compared to the 2023-24 campaign.
It perhaps comes as no surprise that Sunderland, who won promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs, recorded the most significant improvement after finishing 16th in 2023-24 and picked up 20 more points.
Despite a tumultuous season off the field, Blackburn were the second most improved side in the division, gaining 13 points on the previous campaign as they missed out on the play-offs by just two points.
Leeds racked up 90 points in 2023-24 but somehow still managed a 10-point improvement as they hit the 100 mark on their way to winning the title in their best-ever season in the second tier.
Millwall's seven-point improvement was enough to help them finish five places higher in eighth, but they fell short of the top six by two points.
Meanwhile, Bristol City were only six points better off but managed to climb five places and claim a play-off spot, recording their best Championship finishing position since 2007-08.
Coventry also only improved by five points but were able to jump from ninth to fifth, perhaps showing just how fine the margins can be in the Championship when it comes to securing a play-off berth.
At the bottom...
Image source, Getty Images
You might want to look away now, Hull City fans.
The Tigers went backwards more than any other side compared to the previous season under Liam Rosenior, dropping from seventh place and three points outside the play-offs to only escaping relegation on goal difference on the final day.
Cardiff went from mid-table in 2023-24 to rock bottom and will drop down to League One for the first time in 22 years. It is pretty clear to see why as the Bluebirds picked up 18 fewer points compared to the previous season.
Norwich tumbled to 13th place after finishing in the play-offs a year before - an underperformance which ultimately cost Johannes Hoff Thorup his job as head coach.
Preston were 10 points off the play-off places in 2023-24 but picked up 13 fewer points under Paul Heckingbottom in what was their worst season since they were relegated from the Championship in 2010-11.
The Lilywhites' downturn was largely due to a major dip in form in the latter stages of the campaign, picking up only one win from their final 15 games (D7 L7) to avoid the drop by just one point.
West Bromwich Albion endured a disappointing season - for a club which always harbours ambitions of plying its trade in the top flight - with an 11-point drop off.
Albion's final points tally of 64 was their worst in the Championship since 1999-2000.
Plymouth may have only been five points worse off than they were in 2023-24 but having survived on the final day that season, there were to be no such heroics this time around and their two-year stint in the second tier is over.
And the rest...
Image source, Getty Images
*All data based only on teams who were in the Championship in 2023-24 and 2024-25
