Blackburn Rovers Head of Football Operations, Rudy Gestede, says he's had interest from Ligue 1 clubs.
The Rovers chief has split opinion in the fan base since succeeding Gregg Broughton in the summer of 2024. This is Gestede's first role in the industry, having shadowed at Rovers for six months prior to landing the role.
In an interview with French outlet, FootMercato, Gestede discussed his role at Rovers, transfers and interest from his native country.
"Things are moving quite a bit in France and England regarding sporting directors," he said.
"I’ve had contacts, especially with Ligue 1 clubs, but nothing concrete yet. They’re attractive projects.
"It depends on the club project, but also on the life project because I have a wife and three children. But if I feel I can help move a club forward and make it a success, then yes, I’m interested."
Rovers are currently working in the background on recruitment but nothing will progress until a new head coach is in situ.
The club are currently interviewing candidates, something Gestede is across, but transfer preparations are continuing.
"I debrief with the coach and staff to see how the players are doing and whether there are injuries," he explained, asked for a typical example of his day-to-day week.
"Then I meet the various departments of the club. I check how they’re preparing for the week and how the weekend went. I also oversee the academy.
"I organise the week and maintain a close relationship with the coach. The relationship between the sporting director and the manager is crucial to creating a strong work and performance environment at the training ground. I gather information from the staff and organise the week to best prepare for the next match.
"At the same time, recruitment planning continues all year long for upcoming transfer windows. The days are long and constantly changing because you always have to adapt. There can be injuries or unexpected events.
"Right now, we’re preparing the pre-season camp and interviewing coaches because we currently don’t have a manager. We’re also working on transfers, though we can’t move too far ahead until the new coach arrives. You constantly have to keep everyone focused on performance."
Rovers are likely to mix their recruitment as they have in the last two seasons. Though the balance was too heavily skewed away from Championship experience last summer, there were still success stories.
"We closely follow the French market because I know it very well and because I’m French. We follow both Ligue 1 and Ligue 2," Gestede said.
"At Blackburn, we mainly monitor about 15 markets, mostly in Europe. We also scout players in Japan and the United States. Those are interesting markets for us because the players are physically ready and financially accessible.
"I know most European markets quite well, especially France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, and the top three English divisions.
"Even at the biggest clubs, resale value is always part of recruitment thinking. We mostly sign players between 20 and 25 years old who could be sold after two or three years.
"But we also sign players who bring immediate impact, stability, and quality, even if there’s no resale potential. You need the right balance when building a squad."
Please note, quotes have been translated from French to English so may contain small discrepancies.
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