John Buckley’s Deadline Day loan move to Sheffield Wednesday was not due to financial reasons, says Gregg Broughton.

The 23-year-old midfielder headed to Hillsborough for the remainder of the season, although Rovers have an option to recall him in January.

Buckley was on target in the Carabao Cup ties against Walsall and Harrogate but had been limited to a late cameo off the bench at Rotherham in the league.

Broughton says the midfielder is still very much in the long-term thinking at Ewood Park but reckons a loan move was the best option for his development.

"It was driven very little by finance," he told The Lancashire Telegraph. "There are two parts to it, our expectation in August was that Jake Garrett would be going on loan with us having five central midfielders.

"Jon (Dahl Tomasson) felt Jake's progress had come so far in the last six months that he was ahead of John in the pecking order. That was reflected in the playing team.

"John is a player we have invested in heavily, we gave him a new long-term contract and he is a player we fully believe in as a football club.

“He's a player that was knocking on the door not only saying, 'I want to be in the squad but I deserve to be starting games'. 

"Something had to give and we felt John should go out on loan. We are delighted that is a Championship loan and it was also vital that we had a January recall.

"He's away for the next three to four months and then will hopefully come back a better player in a better position to challenge for a starting place at Blackburn Rovers."

Garrett also scored a couple of goals in the Carabao Cup and has made appearances off the bench against Watford and Plymouth in the Championship.

The 20-year-old made his senior debut in August 2022 and went on to play 13 times in all competitions last term as Rovers achieved their highest finish in a decade since dropping out of the Premier League.

"You have seen Jake really develop his creative side and he's shown that with his goal-scoring return in games behind closed doors and in the cup competitions,” Broughton continued.

“The head coach has to make that decision if he feels Jake is ahead of John in the pecking order, my job is to ensure John's development doesn't stop and it continues going forward."

Buckley is yet to make his debut for the Owls. His loan switch was completed past the deadline to be registered for the goalless draw at Leeds earlier this month.

The Yorkshire club are aiming to build on last season’s promotion from League One but have had a tough start to life back in the second tier, losing four of their opening five games.

Xisco Munoz’s side are back in action this weekend and will be hoping to get their first three points of the campaign when they host Ipswich.

The Tractor Boys were also promoted from the third tier last term but have had a much more positive start, picking up 12 out of a possible 15 points following wins against Sunderland, Stoke, QPR and Cardiff.