Blackburn boss Gary Bowyer believes a number of the young players in his squad can play a major role during the upcoming Championship campaign.

Goalkeeper David Raya, midfielder Willem Tomlinson and defender Ryan Nyambe have all impressed during pre-season for Rovers, who are struggling for numbers in their first team squad following a number of high-profile departures over the summer.

Bowyer believes the trio have all proven they can step into the first-team fold when called upon this season as the Lancashire club aim to improve on their ninth place finish during the last campaign.

He said: “It is a bonus for us that we have those three younger players challenging and adding competition to the squad.”

The 44-year-old did warn against putting too much pressure on the shoulders of the youngsters, who are all still under the age of 20, although he is hopeful the trio can continue to develop over the course of the season.

He continued: “But sometimes you have to be careful because you can’t expect too much of the youngsters. Expectation levels – not from within, but from outside – people get carried away.

“But we’ll monitor them and keep working with them, but hopefully they can break through, it is a great opportunity for them.”

Rovers will begin their league campaign with a home match against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Ewood Park on Saturday and they have only added two new faces to their squad over the close season following the arrivals of French duo Sacha Petshi and Bengali-Fode Koita on free transfers.