Ryan Hedges opened up on the difficulties of being at the centre of a transfer saga insisting even he didn’t know what was going on during stages of the protracted negotiations.

Rovers have endured a similar situation with Joe Rothwell who fronted up to how he has been affected by the ongoing uncertainty of his future before pledging his commitment to the club for the remainder of his contract.

At the same time as Rovers were receiving interest in one of their out of contract players, they were trying to snare 26-year-old Hedges from Aberdeen where he had turned down a new deal.

Their interest started last summer, continued in January and looked set to be concluded with a pre-contract agreement that would have seen him move to Ewood Park in June.

However, Rovers pressed forward with their plans to sign him in January, with Hedges pleased to bring to an end the speculation over his future.

“It is hard. Sometimes I’d train with Aberdeen and there’d be news on Sky Sports News saying that there had been a bid and I’d have a text from my mum and dad saying ‘what’s happening?’ and I’d be like ‘nothing’,” he explained.

“You never know what’s happening, even myself. It’s been a rollercoaster couple of weeks but the main thing is that I’m here now and ready to kick on.

“It’s been more mentally battling than physically the last couple of weeks.

“When your future is undecided it can be hard, but now everything is a bit more settled and I’m ready to give it my all, full focus, and hopefully I’ll be here a lot longer than three-and-a-half years.”

Aberdeen Stephen Glass hinted said the speculation had affected Hedges' performances.

The man himself admitted that his heart was with Rovers, so keen was he to make the move, but feared that he may have been forced to wait for the summer.

“That was a conversation I had with Aberdeen, that my heart was probably elsewhere,” he added.

“It’s not the greatest situation to be in, I was set to come to Blackburn and I would rather that have been now rather than in the summer.

“It’s hard to play for a team if your mind is on another team but the main focus is that I’m here now and ready to give my all for the team.

“Since I’ve known there was interest this is something I wanted, a Blackburn player, especially with the position they’re in now and part of a promotion push to the Premier League as everyone does.

“It’s been a mad few weeks, particularly when the news is slow and you don’t think anything is going to happen.

“For it to all come alight again with a few days of the window to go was really special.”

Hedges could come full circle today should he make his debut when Rovers arrive at Swansea City.

The attacker was with Everton until the age of 16 before being offered his way back into professional football with the Swans.

He never made a senior appearance for the club but that gave him the platform to have loans with Leyton Orient, Stevenage and Yeovil Town before a permanent switch to Barnsley in 2017 and then on to Aberdeen in 2019.

Recalling his route to Rovers, he said: “I was at Everton for most of my youth, from Under-9s to Under-16s so I went back to school, finished my A-levels and while I was at school played for Welsh schools in the Centenary Shield.

“Fortunately the manager of that was a scout for Swansea, I scored two goals against England when we beat them 4-1.

“The manager of the Welsh squad asked if I wanted to go for a two-day trial at Swansea and I went down, really enjoyed my time and they invited me back for pre-season.

“Within 10 days I’d signed as a first-year pro.

“I went in through the back door but wouldn’t change my experience.”

As well as returning to school to continue his studies, there was an opportunity to play senior football in the Welsh league. And he credits that experience as key.

“I was playing for Flint Town in the second division of the Welsh league at 16 and 17 and I have to say a big thank you to them because I was playing men’s football at such a young age and that probably helped me as well,” Hedges said.

“It will be nice to go back but my whole focus will be on Blackburn and trying to get three points and trying to leave in a better position than we are now.”

Hedges was one of five January recruits, and two within the last week alongside Ryan Giles.

He has settled in quickly, Tony Mowbray crediting him with being the best performer in trainer this week.

Thanking the club for his welcome, he said: “The lads have been great with me and I feel like I’ve settled in well. It’s a really good bunch of lads and when I was signing that was something I was always told and you can see and feel that in the dressing room how they are with each and it’s great to be a part of.”