Igor Tyjon made his second league appearance at Sunderland. (Image: CameraSport - Alex Dodd)
Igor Tyjon made his second league appearance at Sunderland. (Image: CameraSport - Alex Dodd)
Premier League clubs are continuing to monitor the progress of Igor Tyjon but Blackburn Rovers hope to keep him at the club.
The talented England youth international has enjoyed a meteoric rise at Ewood Park since joining from Rochdale. The forward progressed from Under-18s to making his first-team debut in less than 12 months.
Rovers convinced Tyjon to sign a scholarship last summer despite interest from those higher up the food chain. That committed him for two years, with the first of those having just passed.
The promise of a clear pathway into the first-team attracted the 17-year-old to bide his time at Ewood Park. Since then, he's made his debut in the Championship and was given minutes by Valerien Ismael at the end of this campaign.
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Alongside Kristi Montgomery, they have been identified as the most likely Academy talents to make the step up.
"Sometimes, at some point, we have to make decisions for the future, for the next season. As I said, I want to assess all the players since I came in," Ismael said in April.
"Igor is in the pool of the top talent for the club. My job is to assess him, to see how he's doing on the pitch. Today he got the opportunity to show up and give us the feeling to assess him.
"This is what I spoke about when I came, we want to create a pathway for the young players. As a manager you have to show character and bravery as well with the young players, to give that confidence.
I think these are the two guys now, the guys who are really close to us.
"So, for sure, now they made the first step. So, for sure, they will make the pre-season with us.
"Then we go from there. If next season another one is able to step up, then if the time is right, then we will give him the chance."
Tyjon is eligible for his first professional contract after turning 17 in March. When signing his scholarship, The Lancashire Telegraph understands Rovers made a verbal commitment to offer him a deal as soon as he was eligible, as they have done with the likes of Ash Phillips and Adam Wharton previously.
That contract remains unsigned at the time of writing, though that's a reflection of the teenager keeping his options open rather than anything sinister.
With Arsenal the latest top-six club to have been strongly linked with Tyjon, Rovers will need to continue to show the forward there is a clear pathway for him to play meaningful minutes.
That was what convinced Phillips to sign his first pro deal, though there were clauses inserted which ranged his release clause at staggering figures, depending on the number of minutes he played. In the end, Tottenham Hotspur picked him up for £2million.
If Tyjon was to leave at the end of this season, Rovers would be due compensation. However, the focus remains on luring the player to commit to his first contract.