Brittain is Boro’s top right-back target and is understood to be keen on the move to the Riverside, but a deal has not yet been agreed with Blackburn and the 27-year-old, who is out of contract at Ewood Park next summer, was back in Ismael’s side for their friendly against Everton today.
Brittain impressed, setting up the winner for Blackburn in their 1-0 success, and Ismael insisted afterwards Rovers “won’t change their stance” on the defender.
Blackburn are heading to Spain this week for a pre-season training camp and the Lancashire Telegraph report that Brittain is expected to travel with the squad, unless there are any developments in the next 24 hours or so.
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Brittain missed Blackburn’s pre-season opener against Accrington last week but returned to training on Monday, and Ismael said: “Nothing has changed from what I said last week.
“We had an agreement with Callum last week. He is very professional and it’s clear I like him. Our stance is very clear, he is an important player for us.
“If he stays, we will be happy. If he has to leave, he will, but only if the price is right for the club.
“I think you can see he’s still happy to play for Blackburn. We understand the situation, he has one year on his contract. On the other hand, we know what he brings to the team.
“We want him to stay and he will be happy to. After that, you never know, everything can happen in football. But at the minute, nothing has changed except Callum is back on track and being a professional.”
At the start of the summer Rovers were confident they’d agree a new contract with Brittain, but now reluctantly accept that is unlikely. And while they’d clearly prefer not to lose one of their star players for free next summer, Ismael insists Blackburn are willing to let the defender’s contract run down if needs be.
He said: “When the club wants a player to leave, you put him on the side, he trains on his own and you wait until you get the offer for them to leave. That is not our case.
“We are happy with Callum and if we have to go until the end of the season to risk that he goes for free, we will do it. We are clear within the club, he’s such an important player for me personally as well.
“That’s why we won’t change our stance. It’s important for him to play and he knows that. He feels the love we give him and as long as he’s a Blackburn player, he’s my player.”
The Blackburn boss continued: “We are all really aligned on this decision. If it was about money, we had an offer on the table.
“We are not depending on money with this deal. It’s clear Callum is something special for us and everyone knows that. We are ready to take the risk to go until the end of the season.
“If he stays with us, you never know what can happen. We made a strong offer to extend his contract. Things can change quickly in football.”
