More details have been revealed about Rovers’ transfer strategy ahead of the upcoming campaign.

Makhtar Gueye became the first summer signing at Ewood Park on Tuesday evening to bolster John Eustace’s attacking options.

Yuki Ohashi has now also completed his switch from Japanese club Sanfreece Hiroshima.

The latest Fan Forum minutes have offered an insight into what Rovers still want to add to the squad this summer as they aim to build on last term’s 19th-place finish.

Chief executive Steve Waggott also insisted there was a budget for incomings regardless of potential player sales.

The minutes read: “Mark Hitchen inquired about the club’s thoughts on the state of the playing squad going into the new season.

“Steve Waggott identified four essential ingredients to improve the senior squad and which the head coach and his backroom staff thought the squad lacked last season: pace, power, resilience, leadership.

“With this in mind, four key positions had been identified in consultation with John Eustace: goalkeeper, left-sides centre-half, No 9, either a ‘7’ or ‘11’.

“The recruitment team have been working on their extensive list of potential targets over the summer to get appropriate options to try and bring in.”

It was also confirmed there had been interest in Sam Szmodics after a remarkable campaign, becoming the first Rovers player since Alan Shearer to net 30 goals in a single season.

The Lancashire Telegraph recently reported that a bid had been rejected from Ipswich as the Tractor Boys prepare for life in the Premier League.

Waggott also gave some context over the windfall Rovers will receive following David Raya’s move from Brentford to Arsenal.

The minutes continued: “Waggott confirmed the money would be coming soon but would be spread over three yearly instalments.”

The Venky's' upcoming court case was also on the agenda. Rovers’ owners are under investigation by the Indian government for a non-football related matter but were able to send over two payments to the club last season.

Waggott told the Forum earlier this year that the club was visited by four representatives of the Venky's who had made it clear the case was a “legal and technical issue” and would not impact the operational running of the club.

He “reiterated that the club had never received a winding-up order during his time as CEO” and confirmed that the Venky's had approved the budget for 2024/25.

Waggott also says he has received assurances from the owners that any losses during the upcoming season will be covered by them. Moreover, the 2023/24 accounts will show a £2million profit “predominantly due to player sales”.

The minutes read: “Kenny Hodkinson expressed concern that despite the club bringing in large sums of money from player sales, the owners seemed to be unwilling to provide a healthy transfer budget.

“He also stated his disappointment in the sum received for Adam Wharton compared to the fees that other clubs were commanding for equivalent players.

“Waggott responded that it was not fair to judge events in hindsight. At the time of the sale the player wanted to take up this opportunity and the club felt that it raised the commercial value of the deal as high as it could go at the time, including a very good sell-on fee.”

Another topic discussed was the Women’s team. Waggott was quizzed about contracts offered to players and why a significant number had departed.

The minutes continued: “Waggott stated that the club were not able to offer full-time contracts, which had resulted in a number of the team leaving.

“The main thing was that the club had maintained Championship status. Going forward, it was hoped that a number of the Under-21s could step-up to the first team as part of the club’s development plan.

“He was happy with the new sponsorship deal secured for the team that was more lucrative than previous deals. The big issue going forward is that costs continue to exceed income.”

Season ticket sales for the upcoming campaign were also on the agenda and Fraser Read issued an update to those in attendance.

Nearly 9,000 had been sold at the time of the Forum which was around 400 more than this stage last year.

Of those sales, 76 per cent are renewals from supporters who were already season ticket holders last term.

Looking to the future, 1,200 under-12s season tickets have been sold so far which is a 12 per cent increase from this stage last year.

Rovers intend to keep season tickets on sale for the first few games of the campaign, with late purchasers getting money back for individual matches they had already bought.

Waggott was asked if the price increase in the final phase of season ticket sales would be dropped to encourage more fans to purchase, but this was ruled out.

The chief executive also expects similar arrangements as last time for the upcoming trip to Burnley, with fans encouraged to use official coaches.