Shrewsbury Town have announced their retained list ahead of the upcoming League One season, confirming the departures of former Chelsea youth player Jamal Blackman and ex-Liverpool prospect Jordan Rossiter.
Neither player was offered a new contract as Shrewsbury finalized their squad plans.
Jamal Blackman, a 31-year-old goalkeeper, joined the Shrews in 2024 from Burton Albion. His tenure at the club was brief, making just 27 appearances before his release, leaving him currently without a club.
Jordan Rossiter, a 28-year-old midfielder, also arrived at New Meadow in the same year as Blackman. He spent the most recent season on loan at Oldham Athletic and managed only 17 appearances for Shrewsbury prior to being let go.
Blackman was highly regarded during his time in Chelsea`s youth system and was expected by many to potentially become the club`s first-choice goalkeeper. He spent nearly 10 years at Chelsea, progressing through the reserves from 2006 and joining the senior squad in 2012.
Despite his long association, the former England Under-19 international never made a first-team appearance for Chelsea and was released in 2021 after numerous loan spells at various clubs, including Middlesbrough, Ostersund, Wycombe Wanderers, Sheffield United, Leeds, Vitesse, Bristol Rovers, and Rotherham. Since leaving Chelsea, he has had further stints with Los Angeles FC, Huddersfield, Exeter City, and Burton before his move to Shrewsbury.
Rossiter`s situation is perhaps even more notable. He spent an impressive 11 years in Liverpool`s academy, even captaining the reserve side before being called up to the senior squad in 2014. So highly rated was the defensive midfielder that Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler tipped him as the “next Steven Gerrard” back in 2013.
Fowler`s prediction didn`t come to fruition. Rossiter`s time in Liverpool`s first team was hampered by injuries, limiting him to just five appearances over two years before he departed in 2016. He then moved to Rangers, where he played under Steven Gerrard for two years, and also had spells at Bury, Fleetwood Town, and Bristol Rovers before joining Shrewsbury.
While he never reached the heights of the Gerrard comparison, Rossiter maintains the hype didn`t negatively impact him. Speaking in 2020, he commented, “No, I never saw it like that. For legends of the club to say positive things about me was great to hear. It showed that they rated me highly but I never felt under any extra pressure or anything like that.”
He added, “I never got carried away by it either. I was just thinking, ‘Next Steven Gerrard? If I have 10 per cent of the career Steven Gerrard has had then I will have had a great career’.”
Marcus Bellamy