Blackburn Rovers were hit with yet more deadline day disappointment this January.
Last year, a deadline day loan signing of Nottingham Forest midfielder Lewis O’Brien fell through for administrative reasons.
This season, a similar situation would develop with Orlando City striker Duncan McGuire. After a turbulent couple of days, a loan move to Ewood Park for the American, with the option to buy, was announced in the final hours of the window.
However, it subsequently emerged that a late submission of paperwork, meant that the deal was not ratified by EFL. As a result, McGuire now finds himself back at Orlando City.
Following the collapse of that deal, Blackburn Rovers revealed that they intended to revisit a permanent deal for the 23-year-old in the summer.
Now though, it appears as though there are still issues the club will need to address, before they decide whether they decide to pursue such a deal.
Gregg Broughton on Duncan McGuire
Of course, things have changed around Ewood Park since the collapse of the deal for McGuire.
Jon Dahl Tomasson has left his role as head coach, to be replaced by John Eustace in that role.
Meanwhile, with the club having won just two of their last 20 league games, Blackburn Rovers are just three points clear of the Championship relegation zone.
Now, those issues will seemingly influence whether or not the club do look to complete a permanent deal for McGuire.
Speaking on the Arte Et Labore podcast, the club’s Director of Football Gregg Broughton was asked if a deal will be revisited in the summer.
After confirming Blackburn Rovers had watched the 23-year-old in the international break, Broughton went on to explain:
“I think when I try and look at the football side of the club there’s three things that we have to be aware of. First of all, we are doing everything we can to ensure we’re in the Championship next year, so that’s the first point of call.
“Secondly, we have to have exact clarity on what the transfer budget and wage budget is for the summer, which I guess will come on the back of the first of those points.
“And thirdly John Eustace as our head coach has to have the opportunity to have the majority in terms of the say of what the squad looks like next season. We will never as a club sign a player, without the head coach signing that player off.
“So I think we’ve got to get across those three areas first, before we can make an absolute commitment to sign Duncan, or any other player in the summer.”
Before that, Blackburn Rovers return to action after the break on Friday afternoon, when they host Ipswich Town at Ewood Park.
A sensible approach from Blackburn Rovers
This does appear to be the right stance for the club to take when it comes to a potential deal for McGuire.
The striker is still under contract at Orlando City, and so it would take a fee to secure his services at that point in the transfer cycle.
As a result, Blackburn Rovers would have to make the right call for them, in terms of ensuring this is the appropriate bit of business for the club to do.
Eustace may want to target different players to what Tomasson did, while the financial situation at Ewood Park could potentially change as well, depending on what division they are in next season.
With that in mind, it would feel like a risk for the club to commit to a new deal for McGuire at this moment in time.
It is of course, also worth noting that the striker may no longer want to come to Blackburn Rovers after what happed in January, or if he attracts attention from elsewhere.
So with that in mind, it seems likely that the situation around McGuire will only become clear once we arrive at the summer transfer window.