Arsenal face Man Utd transfer threat in race to sign Blackburn Rovers star

Blackburn teenager Igor Tyjon has already attracted the interest of Arsenal , but another Premier League giant could be joining them in the chase.

Arsenal have had the Blackburn Rovers starlet Igor Tyjon on their radar for some time, but they now face opposition in their chase to sign the 17-year-old in the January transfer window.

One of the biggest ironies of the difficult season that Blackburn Rovers fans have suffered over the course of this season is that, even though the team has been struggling near the wrong end of the Championship, they've seen practically nothing of one of their hottest young talents.

Igor Tyjon has been attracting the interest of some of the Premier League's biggest beasts, but the 17-year-old has barely appeared for the first team, even though he's been with the club since 2023 and made his senior debut for them in August.

And now, with the player having turned down a professional contract with Blackburn and this being the last window during which Blackburn can demand a development fee for him, it seems likely that Tyjon may leave the club with fans having seen only fleeting glances of him in action.

The Sun report that Manchester United have joined the race for Blackburn Rovers wonderkid Igor Tyjon . They confirm that Arsenal's long-standing interest in the exciting young striker has resulted in several bids in excess of £1 million have been rejected by Blackburn, who had been trying to persuade Tyjon to sign a professional contract until the end of this season, over the last year and a half.

Their report advises that Tyjon's scholarship with Blackburn is due to expire at the end of the season, and that Blackburn are only entitled to a transfer fee should the player move to another English club.

They also confirm that Blackburn are "reluctantly accepting he will now go at some stage," and that Arsenal remain the favourites to seal his signature, but that Manchester United could now provide an obstacle to the move going ahead.

Igor Tyjon has been causing excitement since he first arrived at Ewood Park from Rochdale in 2023, but Blackburn Rovers fans have seen very little of him anywhere near the first team squad since then.

Having made two brief substitute appearances for them in the Championship during the 2024-25 season - so brief that his combined game-time for both matches was just five minutes - Tyjon made his full debut for them in their Carabao Cup match against Bradford City in August , playing 63 minutes before being replaced by Todd Cantwell. Bradford won the match 2-1.

But there's still huge interest in this young forward, as can be seen from the pursuit of the player that Arsenal have been undertaking. Tyjon qualifies to play international football for England and Poland, and represented both countries at under-16 level. He has, however, only represented England since then, and has scored three goals in five games for the England under-18s.

The scholarship under which Tyjon is tied to Ewood Park is soon to expire, but there doesn't seem to be anything more than Blackburn Rovers could have done to keep the player at the club for much longer. And now, with January window being their last opportunity to guarantee themselves a fee for him, it seems likely that he will leave the club without Blackburn Rovers fans having even seen that much of what the fuss is all about.