Blackburn Popov deal falls through
A Blackburn Rovers bid for Litex Lovech striker Ivelin Popov has fallen through after the British government failed to issue the Bulgarian with a work permit.
Blackburn and Litex Lovech had agreed a deal in the region of £2.5 million before the summer transfer window closed. However, this does not always mean that a transfer will happen and Blackburn will now have to keep an eye on a player they are clearly interested in.
Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce said: "We had a little look at him and we are in tentative negotiations. I am not so sure what the total outcome is in terms of price, but he is an interesting player. He is a very good young prospect but whether all the numbers stand up is another matter."
Blackburn are now desperately short in terms of strikers. They cannot afford anything to go wrong with any of their current attacking players because the squad is already stretched to breaking point. An injury to another player would have devastating effect on the team.
A big blow
This will be a big blow to Blackburn because they may have thought they had done a deal for one of the most under-rated strikers in Europe. Popov is a player that Allardyce believes could make a real impression in the Premier League but the club could now be forced to wait four months to sign him.
However, Blackburn will now have to arrange a deal to be put through when the next transfer window opens in January. The hope is that by that point the player would have played enough games for Bulgaria, which seems to have been the main reason this deal broke down.
The club will now be forced to rely on the likes of Nikola Kalinic and Mame Biram Djouf to provide all of their fire power up front. This is dangerous because the more experienced Jason Roberts has fallen out with the club.
Allardyce added: "We are trying to get players in and we all know what position we want it to be."
Betting advice
The majority of Blackburn's goals this season have been scored by Mame Djouf who is on loan at the club from Manchester United. This is not healthy and Allardyce may now be forced into looking for a loan player as cover. However, Djouf is in form and has a chance to score in any game at the moment.
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