Nelsen a key man for Rovers

Blackburn Rovers' Ryan Nelsen is set to commit his future to the Ewood Park club after successfully receiving the necessary work permit.

Since arriving from DC United in the January transfer window, the New Zealand international has been an immense presence in Rovers' defence. Nelsen made his Blackburn debut on January 15 in a 1-0 win against Portsmouth and only Chelsea could match Rovers' tally of nine clean sheets in the league between that game and the end of the season.

Nelsen helped prevent the opposition from scoring in 60 percent of the games in which he played, well above the 26 percent his team-mates managed prior to his move and for the solitary game he missed after signing.

Mark Hughes' men doubled the percentage of games where they collected all three points with Nelsen in the team, as they eased away from relegation danger with games to spare.

The 27-year old centre-half will be a key member of Hughes' side as they look to consolidate on last season's 15th place finish.

Premiership 2004/2005	With Nelsen	Without Nelsen
Games	15	23
Wins	5	4
Draws	5	10
Losses	5	9
Average Goals For	0.80	0.87
Average Goals Against	0.60	1.48
Win %	33%	17%
Points per game	1.33	0.96
Clean Sheets	9	6
Games Kept Clean Sheet %	60%	26%