‘Excellent’ Todd Cantwell shines as Blackburn boss pledges to banish ‘tough’ Rangers spell
Todd Cantwell was once regarded as a potential £50 million Premier League star, so his unsuccessful spell with Rangers is bittersweet.
Cantwell was once the focus of the English Premier League, with Norwich City putting a high price tag on the offensive midfielder in 2021.
After leaving Rangers in January 2023, the 26-year-old’s career has suffered a significant decline, and he is now back south of the border.
Todd Cantwell signed a £600k agreement with Blackburn Rovers in the summer after a challenging 18-month period.
However, based on the current very public show of support from Ewood Park manager John Eustace, it appears to be a bargain fee Rangers may come to regret in the coming seasons.
“Excellent” Todd Cantwell shines for Blackburn
Todd Cantwell is yet to start a game for Blackburn Rovers since signing from Rangers last month.
But that doesn’t mean the midfielder isn’t making an effect, as Cantwell helped Blackburn defeat a tenacious QPR side in the English Championship this weekend.
Cantwell came on at halftime and put on a spectacular 45-minute show at Loftus Road, where he was key to Rovers’ success.
After Lewis Travis had defeated 10-man QPR, the former Rangers player produced a wonderful cross to the back post for Danny Batth to score Blackburn’s second goal in a 2-0 win.
Eustace promised to end Todd Cantwell’s ‘difficult’ spell at Ibrox after his impressive full-time performance.
The Blackburn manager also waxed lyrical about Cantwell’s abilities, calling him a ‘great player’ and claimed it is up to Blackburn to ‘get him healthy and firing’.
“Todd is a top-class player who has had a tough time during the last 18 months,” Eustace told the Liverpool Telegraph.
“He’s a terrific player, and if you don’t have a career like his, you won’t have played for some very big clubs. We want to offer him the freedom to express himself and play in whatever way he desires.
“If we can do that, we’ll have a great player on our hands. He is a terrific player, and it is up to us to get him fit and firing.
“That was a great ball for the goal. He’s a great player, and that motivates everyone else. When he came on, you could notice an increase in the energy and quality of other players.”
Eustace also revealed that the switch was pre-planned, with Cantwell coming on even if QPR had not been reduced to ten men after Jonathan Varane’s late red card.
“The message at half-time was the same,” Eustace stated. “We knew what we had to accomplish, so we hired Todd to execute it.
“He was coming on regardless, we could see we were getting into good areas and we just needed a final bit of quality to make it count.”
Wantaway Rangers star sullied the Ibrox legacy.
Rangers fans would not be surprised by the statements, as they truly believed in what Todd Cantwell could bring to the Ibrox side.
However, Ibrox supporters will want Blackburn Rovers fans to be aware that this is a situation they have witnessed before.
Cantwell began well in Glasgow, but concerns with the midfielder’s attitude quickly clashed with Philippe Clement’s collective Ibrox message.
After being hooked in the first half of a Europa League match against Aris Limassol, the midfielder’s relationship with the manager became strained, and the project swiftly deteriorated.
When Rangers fans knocked on Clement’s door and asked to depart this summer, they gave up on Todd Cantwell because there was no room for passengers at Ibrox.
Cantwell, who claimed that the Rangers vision was not the same as the one he signed up for, talked highly of the club after his departure, but his lack of devotion is inexcusable to the dedicated Ibrox supporters and has tarnished his admittedly unimpressive Ibrox reputation.
For a player with such evident potential, Cantwell has been a disruptive and immature presence practically everywhere he has played, and let’s hope Blackburn can restart his stuttering career.
They attempted at Norwich City, Bournemouth, and finally Rangers.
While we’re not convinced Cantwell will ever reach the lofty heights he was pegged for as a kid, Todd still has time to establish a name for himself in the sport.
For his sake more than anyone else’s, let’s hope it starts at Ewood Park, where Blackburn are unbeaten and currently third in the Championship league.
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