Recruitment is never easy. There are risks to every deal but Blackburn Rovers have been fully vindicated by their faith in Sam Szmodics.

The 28-year-old has been in sensational form this season, netting 14 goals for the season and leading the Championship's scoring charts. Considering he scored five league goals last year, the upturn is stark.

Although Rovers didn't get the result they wanted on Saturday, Szmodics was against the centre of their best play. He was the one that dragged them back into the game, heading in at the back post.

In the absence of Jon Dahl Tomasson, the stand-in captain was called upon to do media duties. It's a sign of the responsibility he has assumed and embraced, stepping into the leadership group this summer.

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That was not a sure bet 12 months ago, after a difficult start to life at Ewood Park. Questions had been asked upon his arrival about the fee Rovers paid, considering he'd just been relegated as part of a poor Peterborough United side.

Tactically, there were questions over where he would fit in, considering fans' favourite Bradley Dack was available again. Could they play together? Or would Szmodics always be trying to prove he's worthy to replace the man everyone adored?

Szmodics didn't hit the ground running. On September 17, Rovers lost 2-0 at Kenilworth Road whilst he was playing with the Under-21s at Tottenham. He was simply not selected for the squad, a blow for any first-team player, never mind a new arrival.

That was the first sign of Jon Dahl Tomasson's open-door policy with the Under-21s. If you're not at it, you will get your game time elsewhere. Some could've sulked, Szmodics rolled his sleeves up.

The turning point was the New Year. Bradley Dack's run in the side came to an end after a hamstring injury and Szmodics took his chance. The FA Cup was the competition that really saw the fans take him as their own, with goals and spectacular performances at Leicester City and Sheffield United earning the love of the fans.

Ben Brereton Diaz's exit left a hole in the squad. With no obvious replacement signed, Tomasson looked to within as to who could step up and shoulder the responsibility.

Szmodics is one of the senior players in the dressing room, despite only just entering his peak years. His standards have gone up two notches in a way I'm sure he could have only dreamed of.

It's not just the goals but the work rate, the tactical flexibility and the personality. This young squad needs leaders and Szmodics has taken that responsibility on.

As he said himself, after signing a one-year extension at the club last week, he is playing the best football of his career right now. He is oozing with confidence and repaying every penny that Rovers invested.

He has proven to be a fantastic purchase and a natural fit for Tomasson's high-octane style of football in a way that Dack never could be, long-term. It is never easy stepping through someone's shadow but Szmodics has done that twice already in his short career at Ewood Park.

He has already matched Brereton Diaz's Championship goal tally from last season and we are barely in December. This deal didn't always look like a slam dunk but Szmodics has justified Rovers' faith and then some.