Blackburn Rovers have signed Ryan Hedges from Aberdeen on a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee.
Hedges’ move brings the 26 year-old back to the English Football League (EFL) two-and-a-half-years after he departed Barnsley on a free transfer to join Aberdeen, where he scored 18 goals in 86 appearances for the Dons in all competitions.
Speaking to RoversTV about his switch from Scottish Premiership’s Aberdeen to EFL’s Blackburn Rovers, Hedges said: “I’m over the moon to finally be here and it feels as if it’s been a long time coming,” as he joins Rovers who are currently second in the Sky Bet Championship.
Hedges went on to reveal that he was keen to complete the move now ahead of potential further interest in the summer, which he believes was the correct decision for his development.
Aware that Blackburn are currently fighting for promotion, Hedges has vowed to try and help the team return to the Premier League since suffering relegation at end of 2011-12 season.
“Looking at the squad and the buzz around the place, it’s something I want to be a part of to help get the team back to the Premier League” commented Hedges on the prospect of a fight for automatic promotion which awaits him and Rovers in the coming months.
On Blackburn’s run of one loss in their last 13 league games and what promotion would mean to him, Hedges commented: “I remember seeing the Fulham result and noticed how the team have kicked on and done amazingly well since that result.
“I’ve kept my eye on things and the team have gone from strength to strength.
“Every footballer wants to play in the Premier League and I’m no different. I see this as the perfect place to achieve that dream.”
Hedges also praised manager, Tony Mowbray for his ability to “speak volumes” about his style of play and ambitions which suited the player perfectly in terms of what he himself wants to achieve at Ewood Park.
Explaining what Mowbray want from him and his fellow attacking teammates, Hedges said: “He wants attacking players to be in the best possible positions with a lot of the ball, and that’s exactly what I want to hear.”
Mowbray in turn joked that Hedges will definitely “bring a nice left foot” on top of his ‘athleticism’ plus ‘power and size’ to the team.
Hedges though has only scored eight goals in total during his career playing for EFL clubs but Mowbray isn’t too worried as he continued: “He’s got the confidence, he’s got a lovely left foot, he can nick a goal, he can shoot, he can score, he can head it.
“We’re trying to give him the opportunity to see if he can make it at this level and help us.”
Mowbray though has iterated that Hedges shouldn’t expect to stroll straight into the starting line-up, as he added: “He has to work really hard to try and get in our team and help us progress, if we can, like we did when we signed Adam Armstrong and Joe Rothwell.
“You have to polish them up and they have to know how we play. We’ll work with him really hard and try to make him into a player that the fans love.”
The ex Middlesbrough boss also fired a warning about what future signings can expect under his regime at Ewood Park, as he concluded: “We’ll tell the lads who come in, if the team are fit, they have done amazingly well.
“We’ve had all these clean sheets and they’re working really hard, so you may have to watch from the sidelines for a week or two before you get an opportunity to think that you can knock one of them over and get in the team.”
Hedges’ previous clubs after being released from Everton’s Youth Academy include; Flint Town United and Swansea where he made zero first-team appearances as he instead endured loan stints at Leyton Orient, Stevenage and Yeovil respectively.
Hedges could make his debut for Blackburn on Saturday 5 February as Rovers visit Swansea at Liberty Stadium in a 5:30pm GMT kick-off, live on Sky Sports.
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