Rovers don't envisage any contract concerns with defender

Nyambe’s exclusion from the starting line-up in the last two matches has been a talking point among supporters, with Joe Rankin-Costello preferred ahead of him for wins over Wycombe and Derby.

The Namibian should return to the starting line-up today, with Rankin-Costello facing up to three weeks on the sidelines with a hamstring injury, a problem that Nyambe has had himself in recent times.

Nyambe took a while to break into the side last season, eventually ousting captain Elliott Bennett in the right back spot in November, and since then, whenever fit, the 22-year-old has taken the right back spot.

His form across the last two years has been strong, leading to concerns about a possible move away given his contract expires at the end of the season.

His contractual situation is one of several the club want to extend, but Mowbray has previously admitted that any such negotiations would see money come out of the same budget he’s looking to strengthen his squad with.

But the manager doesn’t foresee any issues of Nyambe extending his stay at the club beyond a decade, having first arrived as a teenager before going on to make 133 first-team appearances, and counting.

“Ryan Nyambe is an important footballer for our football club and I don’t envisage any problems with that (contract) situation,” Mowbray explained.

“As I sit here I think we’ve got quite a few players’ contracts that we need to look at in a period of time where it’s not easy to improve everyone’s contracts at a time where people might be getting laid off around the football world.

“We’re conscious of which players contracts have got what time to run and what the assets are at our football club and you need to protect the assets.”

Mowbray’s one criticism over Nyambe has been his delivery from the wide areas, something he has work hard on after training with coaches Damien Johnson and David Lowe.

That paid dividends on the opening day when he came up with an assist for Adam Armstrong at Bournemouth with a fine run and cross.

Nyambe has always been given licence to get forward from right back, but there is greater emphasis on him to do so with Rovers utilising a 4-3-3 formation.

Mowbray has always felt there is plenty of development in the Namibian international, but never around his defensive capabilities having proven a tough test for any division in the winger, not least last season when he was recalled to the side for the November 2019 victory over Brentford when he did a fine man-marking job on Said Benrahma.

And Mowbray added: “Ryan has impressed hugely in my time at this football club, not because of me, but because of time.

“He’s a brilliant lad, a humble human being, a diamond, so when I do leave him out then it’s never because he’s done something that will personally upset you.

“He does as he’s asked and gets on with it. What we’re asking is for him to work and improve on his delivery into the box, his delivery down the line.

“I don’t think there’s too much I can do to improve his one-on-ones because I think he’s as good as they come defending one-on-one, his power, strength and speed, but I can show him clips of Alexander-Arnold whipping crosses into the box.

“Ryan has to get to a level up from where he’s been to give him the best chance of being a Premier League footballer at some stage.”

Nyambe is one of a crop of youngsters who have come through the club’s Academy to make an impact at first-team level.

And the manager added: “I’ve always said we’re trying to be a football club that develops and we’ve had lots of conversation about Academy players, Phil Jones probably being the big one that was sold for a lot of money, but a long time ago.

“I think the Academy, because of the investment the owners put in, a lot of money every year, we need to have more fruition, more first-team players, and I hope that’s starting to come to fruition.

“A lot of young players train with the first-team, or we drop them in and then take them out so they can feel what it’s like.”