Portsmouth, Hull and Plymouth rivals close in on new manager as £500,000 bid to avoid Championship relegation launched

Reports emerged over the weekend that a formal approach had been made to Blackburn Rovers for John Eustace, with the Rams triggering his Ewood release clause, which is believed to be around £500,000.

Now the Lancashire Telegraph are reporting that the 45-year-old will tell the Rovers board today of his desire to move to Pride Park and end his year-long stay in Lancashire. They claim the former Derby midfielder oversaw training as usual this morning as Blackburn prepare to take on West Brom in the Championship on Wednesday night. But he will seek talks with chief executive Steve Waggott and chief operating officer Suhail Pasha immediately afterwards in order to pave the way for a return move to his former employers.

An announcement on his departure could even be confirmed tonight, according to the Lancashire Telegraph.

Derby currently sit second from bottom in the Championship table and took the decision to part company with Warne on Friday following a run of seven straight defeats in all competitions. An injury-time penalty scored by Jerry Yates earned the Rams a point against Norwich at Carrow Rosad on Saturday. That allowed them to close the gap on third-from-bottom Hull to a point. Meanwhile, only two points separate Pompey - who are 20th - and Derby following the Blues’ 2-1 defeat at Sheffield United at the weekend.

Pompey will hope to give their survival hopes a boost against fellow Championship strugglers Cardiff at PO4 on Tuesday. The Rams are away to Oxford United on the same night - by which stage Eustace could be in place for oversea their battle against relegation.

Eustace replaced John Dahl Tomasson as Rovers boss in February 2024 and helped them avoid relegation to League One by finishing 19th. This term Blackburn sit sixth in the table and currently possess one of the end-of-season play-off places.

Derby beat Pompey 4-0 at Pride Park on December 13, while the two teams play the reverse fixture at Fratton Park on April 12.