Jon Dahl Tomasson has revealed he wanted to sign Deniz Undav for Blackburn Rovers during his time with the Championship side.
The forward joined VfB Stuttgart initially on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion in August 2023 and made his move permanent a year later.
Tomasson made an attempt to bring the 29-year-old to Blackburn Rovers during the player’s time at The Amex.
In January 2022, the Seagulls agreed a deal with Royale Union Saint-Gilloise for Undav to join them later that summer.
Graham Potter was then in charge and left the Premier League side for Chelsea. They replaced him with Roberto De Zerbi in September 2022.
Undav featured under both managers, managing eight goals and an assist from 923 minutes. The limited playing time saw him join the Bundesliga side, initially on loan.
Tomasson wanted Undav at Blackburn Rovers
The English club tried to sign him, via a loan deal, prior to his move to Germany.
Tomasson joined the second division English club in July 2022 and left in February 2024, a month before taking the Sweden job. He managed 90 games for Blackburn Rovers, winning 41 and losing 36. In 2024, he had talked about the difficult situation at his former club.
“It was a difficult situation at Blackburn. They were cutting the budget. I signed for a project that was no longer there.”
That would indicate the issues he had when bringing signings in.
The manager has now given an interview to Kicker to discuss the Germany international and his chances of making it to the national team squad.
Fotbollskanalen relay his comments on wanting to sign Undav for Blackburn Rovers. The outlet have taken interest in what Tomasson says because of his time with Sweden.
“I have a funny story about Undav. When I was coach in England for Blackburn Rovers, I tried to sign him during the winter. I really wanted him,” he said.
“I think he came from Belgium and that year he played in the Premier League with Brighton. He didn’t play every game, but he scored five goals and I tried to sign him. I had a very young team and no proven striker. That was the season we finished seventh and missed out on promotion.”
Attacker won’t regret failed Rovers move
Deniz Undav has managed 53 goals and 28 assists from 106 matches for Stuttgart, of which 21 goals and 12 assists are from this season. His form for the club helped him make his debut for Germany in March 2024 and he’s played six matches for his country since then.
This may have not been possible had he joined Blackburn Rovers. It also wouldn’t have convinced Stuttgart to buy him in August 2024.
While Tomasson regrets missing out on him, Undav will be happy with his alternative move to Stuttgart.
Transfermarkt value him at €20m and his highest value was €28m, in December 2024, while on loan with Stuttgart.
