Club connections | Blackburn Rovers
As Swansea City get set to take on Blackburn Rovers, we take a look back at some notable figures to have worn the colours of both clubs.
Danny Graham
Few players have a stronger connection between Swansea City and Blackburn Rovers than Danny Graham.
Graham joined the Swans from Watford in 2011 after finishing as the Championship’s leading goalscorer the previous season.
He made an immediate impact in the club’s maiden Premier League campaign, finishing as the club’s top scorer with 12 goals with memorable strikes coming against Liverpool and Arsenal.
In total, he scored 21 goals in 62 appearances before joining Sunderland in January 2013.
Graham moved to Ewood Park in 2016 and helped Blackburn secure promotion from League One, scoring 45 league goals in 158 appearances for Rovers.
Marvin Emnes
Marvin Emnes enjoyed two loan spells with Swansea City before making his move to the club permanent in 2014, having also represented Blackburn Rovers.
The forward initially joined the Swans on a month-long loan from Middlesbrough in October 2010. One of his most memorable moments came when he scored the winner in the 156th South Wales derby, helping Swansea secure a memorable 1-0 victory over Cardiff City.
Four years later, he returned to SA1 joining the Swans during their time in the Premier League. He featured in both legs of the Europa League last-32 tie against Napoli before scoring his first Premier League goal for the club in a 3-1 win away at Sunderland.
His second loan spell led to a permanent move that summer, and he went on to make further appearances for the Swans before joining Blackburn Rovers on loan in 2016. He made 37 appearances for Rovers during the 2016-17 campaign, scoring four goals in all competitions.
Jordi Gómez
Jordi Gómez enjoyed loan spells at both clubs, but it was at Swansea City where he made his biggest mark.
Gómez joined the Swans from Espanyol in June 2008 and quickly endeared himself to supporters, scoring the winning goal in the first South Wales derby in seven years.
The midfielder went on to make 38 league appearances in south Wales, scoring 12 goals, with his derby-day strike remaining a standout moment of his time at the club.
Following spells with Wigan Athletic and Sunderland, Gómez joined Blackburn Rovers on loan in February 2016. He made 17 league appearances for Rovers, scoring twice, but was unable to prevent their relegation to League One.
Andy Fisher
Andy Fisher came through the ranks at Blackburn Rovers, progressing through the club’s academy before signing his first professional contract in 2016.
Penning a two-year deal, the shot-stopper made his first team debut a year later, keeping a clean sheet in a 1-0 win over Stoke City U21’s.
His game time was limited at Ewood Park though so loan spells at FC United of Manchester, Northampton Town and MK Dons followed.
While Fisher did not feature over the course of that temporary stint, he caught the eye of former Swans boss Russell Martin and was signed on a permanent deal in the summer of 2020.
He would go on to make 39 appearances in total the following season for the Dons, and backed that up with 23 during the 2021-22 campaign before making the move to SA1.