Blackburn next manager: Ex-Norwich boss lined up as Valerien Ismael sacked
Blackburn Rovers have decided to sack under-pressure manager Valerien Ismael following crisis talks as they face a fight to stay in the Championship this season.
Rovers‘ 1-0 defeat to Hull City on Saturday was their third loss in four games, and extended their winless run to nine games.
They currently sit 22nd in the Championship following such poor form, three points away from 21st-placed West Brom, with a game in hand against Sheffield Wednesday on Tuesday.
Ismael became Blackburn’s new boss last February, succeeding Derby County-bound John Eustace, but there has been little progress made over the last 12 months.
The bookies priced Ismael as the favourite to be the next manager sacked in the second-tier, and he has now lost his job, with a potential replacement already touted.
Blackburn sack Valerien Ismael with David Wagner a possible successor
Blackburn officially announced Ismael’s departure via X on Monday afternoon, with a post that read: “Valérien Ismaël has today left his position as Blackburn Rovers’ Head Coach by mutual consent.
“Ismaël joined the club in February 2025, however it has been mutually agreed that he will step away from his role with immediate effect, along with Assistant Head Coach Dean Whitehead.“
According to journalist Alan Nixon, via Patreon, former Norwich and Huddersfield boss Wagner is a potential candidate to take over on a permanent basis.
He led Huddersfield to promotion from the Championship in 2017, while he took Norwich to the second-tier playoffs in 2024 before they were well beaten by Leeds United and he was dismissed a day later.
Who else could be in the running to succeed Ismael at Blackburn?
Nixon has also reported that first-team coach Damien Johnson is set to be put in interim charge while Rovers’ chiefs search for a new permanent boss.
Another recent report has claimed that Slaven Bilic is a contender to be Blackburn’s next manager as he targets a return to English football after nearly three years away.
According to the latest odds from a major UK bookmaker, Damien Duff is the favourite to be Rovers’ next boss, at a price of 4/1.
Former manager Tony Mowbray has also been touted to potentially return to Ewood Park, as the bookies’ second-favourite at odds of 11/2, while Gary Rowett could soon return to the second-tier, as he is priced at odds of 8/1 to succeed Ismael.