Blackburn Rovers have one ESC slot left to use this summer as they continue their European transfer policy.
Valerien Ismael has three new faces in his squad, Dion De Neve, Sidnei Tavares and Ryan Alebiosu. There will be more incomings and outgoings in the next seven weeks of the transfer window.
With another surge of foreign imports, Rovers fans have been wondering how this impacts their ESC slots. For those unfamiliar, an ESC slot allows clubs to sign a player who doesn't meet the threshold for a GBE work permit after changes to the law following Brexit.
Entering the summer, Rovers are believed to have one slot available. That is because Yuki Ohashi has played a significant enough portion of league minutes to have his ESC slot converted into a GBE work permit, as per the rules.
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That wasn't the case for Augustus Kargbo, Balazs Toth or Exauce Mafoumbi, who is often forgotten. Toth was second choice to Aynsley Pears for most of the season whilst Kargbo only arrived in January and then suffered an injury.
Those players can't convert, as Ohashi did, until next summer. So the only way to free up more slots would be to sell those three players. Regardless, it leaves Rovers with one place still available.
Fortunately, De Neve, Tavares and Alebiosu all qualify for GBE work permits as they played in band 1-5 league when they were signed. Tavares and Alebiosu spent their youth careers in England at Leicester City and Arsenal, respectively, which helps too.
Baradji, should the deal get completed, would not be eligible for a regular GBE work permit and would occupy their final ESC slot. That deal remains in the balance and could rumble on after concerns surrounding his medical.
If Rovers pursued with the deal, they would be unable to sign anyone else who doesn't automatically qualify for a GBE work permit, without an exit.
However, they would still be able to register transfer target Steve Kapuadi if a deal was struck, though that seems increasingly unlikely after his heavy involvement in Legia Warsaw's Conference League matches.
The defender qualifies due to the Polish club's run in Europe last season. However, as a new European campaign has begun, his eligibility will soon be dictated by how Legia perform in the 2025/26 iteration of the competition.
This information is not publicly available and so whilst it is deducible from the criteria set out, we'll state that only Blackburn Rovers know exactly how the land lies.
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