Blackpool learn potential 7-figure stumbling block if League One boss is to be named next Bloomfield Road manager

Blackpool have learned how much they’ll have to fork out if they want to bring Leyton Orient boss Richie Wellens back to Bloomfield Road.

And it’s clear he won’t come cheap, with Alan Nixon claiming a fee in the region of £1m will be needed to prise the former Seasiders midfielder away from Brisbane Road.

That’s significantly more than the £250,000 Blackburn Rovers were reportedly quoted when they supposedly made enquiries about the O’s boss’s availability last February following their decision to part company with Jon Dahl Tomasson.

But with Wellens rewarded with a new three-year deal by the east London side in the summer, after guiding the club to the League One play-offs final, that compensation price has, by all accounts, quadrupled as Orient understandably protect their asset.

It’s not clear at the moment if that’s the sort of price Blackpool will be willing to pay in order to find a suitable replacement for Steve Bruce, who was sacked as manager following Saturday’s home defeat to AFC Wimbledon.

It’s also unknown if Manchester-born Wellens is, in fact, on owner Simon Sadler’s shortlist of potential managers.

But with the Seasiders currently sat 23rd in the League One table and in desperate need of new leadership, it’s the price they might have to pay in order to salvage this season and build for a more productive future.

Current bookies’ favourites for vacatn Blackpool manager’s job

Wellens, who is among the bookies’ favourites for the also-vacant manager’s job at third-tier rivals Luton Town, is the only manager hotly-fancied for the job at Bloomfield Road currently employed elsewhere.

Fellow favourite Ian Evatt has been out of work since he was sacked by Bolton Wanderers in January - as is former Blackburn Rovers and Chelsea winger Damien Duff, who walked away from his job at League Of Ireland side Shelbourne in the summer after guiding the Dublin club to their first league title since 2006.

One-time Seasiders caretaker boss Stephen Dobbie is also among the bookies’ favourites for the job, with the Blackpool coach part of Bruce’s backroom since his appointment in September 2024.

Rank outsiders Charlie Adams, Sean Dyche, Steve Evans, Matt Bloomfield, Ruben Selles and Wayne Rooney would not require a compensation fee if they somehow ended up at Bloomfield Road at the end of this process.

Leyton Orient and Richie Wellens - a dream partnership

Following his appointment as Leyton Orient manager in March 2022, Wellens - who featured more than 200 times for Blackpool between 2000 and 2005 - guided the O’s to the 2022-23 League Two title, before helping the team secure a mid-table finish on their League One return in 2023-24.

The former Swindon and Doncaster Rovers boss then led Orient to a sixth-place finish last season, which allowed them to contest the end of season play-offs.

A 3-2 semi-final aggregate victory over Stockport booked the O’s a place at Wembley for the League One play-off final. Yet their hopes of promotion to the Championship were dashed by Charlton, who secured a 1-0 win last May.

Soon afterwards, Wellens was rewarded for his efforts last season as he was handed a new Brisbane Road deal. And it’s clear from manjority shareholder David Gandler’s words at the time that he’s highly-thought off in the capital.

The American said at the time: “Ever since I started speaking to people at the club, Richie has been of paramount importance in every conversation. He's an incredible coach, and his track record speaks for itself.

"Richie is not just the head coach of the football club. He is obviously a wonderful tactician and motivator, but he takes an active interest in every side of the football club, whether that be on or off the pitch.

“We've had some great conversations since I joined the club, and he wants nothing but the best for Leyton Orient. We know what Richie wants, and we mirror his ambition of having yet another season of progress."

For your next Blackpool read: Ex-QPR and Crystal Palace boss' stance shared on vacant Blackpool role following Steve Bruce sacking