Clubs plotting move to sign Blackburn Rovers attacker - Stuttgart and Hamburg keen | OneFootball

Joe Boggan is on the radar of numerous high-profile European sides

Numerous high-profile European clubs, such as Hamburg and Stuttgart, are tracking young Blackburn Rovers starlet Joe Boggan ahead of a potential move for his services in the summer, according to a new report.

17-year-old Boggan is one of Rovers' most highly-rated youth talents. He joined the clubas a first-year scholar from Liverpool in the summer of 2023 and instantly became a regular starter in their under-18 side.

The young forward has progressed quickly through the East Lancashire outfit's youth ranks over the last 18 months, and he also made his under-21s debut in October 2023 and featured a further five times for that age-group side during the 2023/24 season.

Boggan signed his first professional contract at Ewood Park in May last year, putting pen to paper on a two-year deal to tie his future at the club down until 2026. He admitted back then that it was an "amazing feeling" to sign his maiden full-time deal in the game, but he could be set to move on soon with multiple clubs on the continent believed to be taking an interest in his signature.

Joe Boggan linked with European move - Stuttgart and Hamburg are interested

Boggan spent a month out on loan at Northern Premier League side Macclesfield Town earlier in the season, but he has been playing for Rovers' youth teams since September, and has bagged seven goals in eight under-18 Premier League games, as well as four strikes in seven Premier League 2 appearances with the under-21's.

His impressive form up-front for those sides has seen German clubs Stuttgart, Hamburg and Freiburg all register their interest in snapping him up soon, with Dutch sides FC Twente and AZ Alkmaar also linked with a potential move, according to a new report from Football Insider.

The same story states that Boggan's predatory finishing in front of goal and clever movement has brought him onto the radar of those interested clubs, but the 17-year-old is believed to be highly-regarded among chiefs at Ewood Park.

Blackburn will hold the cards when it comes to any possible exit for Boggan this summer, as he remains in contract with the club until next year. Any interested team that wants to make an approach to sign him soon would have to pay a transfer fee, as a result.

Blackburn have a strong recent history of producing talented academy players

Boggan looks to be the next in a long recent line of top talents that have emerged from Rovers' youth set-up. He could move on soon, but may well be persuaded to stay due to the pathway that they have created for numerous academy stars to quickly progress to the first-team over the last few years.

Blackburn's youth success has been a real highlight in a tough time for the club since they were relegated from the Premier League back in 2012. Their December fixture against Hull City in the Championship was their 700th successive senior league fixture where an Academy graduate had featured in the squad, so it is clear that a lot of emphasis has been placed on producing potentially top players like Boggan.

The likes of Lewis Travis, Hayden Carter, Joe Rankin-Costello, Scott Wharton and John Buckley are all players among the current squad that were once a part of Rovers' academy, and notable Premier League stars like David Raya and Adam Wharton have each progressed through their underage squads to become successful on the world's biggest stage with Arsenal and Crystal Palace in recent years.

Boggan will no doubt be looking at those players as examples that he would like to emulate as his career progresses over the next few years. He is only 17 right now, so any decision to move abroad will likely be made with real consideration for his future, with Rovers also likely to want to extend his contract in the face of this reported interest.