Blackburn have appointed Jon Dahl Tomasson as their head coach on a contract to 2025. The former Denmark striker, who played in England for Newcastle, led Malmö to back-to-back Swedish titles before leaving last December.
Tomasson takes over from Tony Mowbray, who departed last month after an eighth-placed Championship finish. Tomasson has been coaching since his retirement as a player in 2011 and had spells in charge of Excelsior and Roda JC in the Netherlands before working as an assistant with Vitesse Arnhem and Denmark.
The 45-year-old, who also played for Feyenoord, Milan and Villarreal among other clubs, described Blackburn as having “a lot of tradition and also great ambition”. Blackburn were Premier League champions in 1995 but have not been in the top division since 2012.
“We have a young team here, and also a great academy, and the owners have a clear vision, which is to develop players and become a sustainable Premier League club over time, so I’m really happy to be involved in this exciting new chapter,” Tomasson said.
He led Malmö to the 2021-22 Champions League group stage by winning four qualifying ties. The team were twice beaten by Chelsea and finished bottom of a group that also included Juventus and Zenit St Petersburg.
Blackburn’s director of football, Gregg Broughton, referenced the “aggressive, offensive style” used by Tomasson at Malmö and the CEO, Steve Waggott, said: “His work around developing players, along with demanding a culture of giving everything to the club, is exactly what we need.”