Two down but how many to go at Blackburn Rovers this summer?
It was always unrealistic that Valerien Ismael would get his wish of having 90% of his squad in the building by the end of June. The start of pre-season training had a couple of fresh faces, at least, in Dion De Neve and Sidnei Tavares.
It's an age-old cliche but experience pre-season from the off is so important for these players. Especially those experiencing Championship football and the English game for the first time.
There will be more activity at Blackburn Rovers as the summer window begins to stir. As more teams return for their first training sessions, the activity will began to ramp up.
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Rudy Gestede outlined six key positions he wanted to bolster ahead of the window opening. Ismael backed that up by insisting the Rovers surgery needed half a dozen new players, not major surgery.
The impending exit of Danny Batth and Andi Weimann could raise that number. Tyrhys Dolan's future is still unresolved too and a betting man would wager he will also need replacing by the Rovers recruitment staff too.
The Lancashire Telegraph has reported that Batth's exit will not prompt a re-think in defensive numbers. One left-sided centre-back is the target, with the obvious caveat that a serious injury would change that thinking.
Selling the prospect of competing with Callum Brittain, one of Rovers' most guaranteed starters, is not an easy one. So finding his understudy is not an obvious priority given Kristi Montgomery, Leo Duru and Joe Rankin-Costello can all deputise.
The next additions, the ones that could move the needle, need to be in attack. It's very evident that those are the most costly and difficult to achieve.
Right-wing has to be a priority for Rovers, with Dolan's goals, energy and work rate needing to be replaced. They current have three wide players in place but Ryan Hedges, De Neve and Augustus Kargbo have little pedigree of scoring goals.
Whether it's from the flank or as a number nine, fans want to see an injection of goal-scoring quality. Rovers' next transfer activity could be a fair sign as to whether they have the budget to seek that out permanently or if they're relying on the loan market.
There was £1.5million or so made available for Brandon Thomas-Asante in January. Is a similar level of capital available to be reinvested for Ismael? A team that was already underscoring is now likely to lose two of its top three scorers, Dolan and Weimann.
Midfield is locked down, with outgoings surely more of a priority in that position. Depending on where you place Rankin-Costello, six into two doesn't work as a numbers game.
If Rovers have to raise funds to make a serious imprint in the market, that is an obvious area of the pitch to start looking. The worry is that it's those deemed expendable are the ones that make room, rather than either of the two figureheads in that department.
Although a left-sided centre-back could be next, it's clear that the positions of significant importance are much higher up.
With that in mind, Rovers will give a clear indication of their ambitions with their next move.
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