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Price tag emerges as Blackburn Rovers lodge striker enquiry
Blackburn Rovers will likely have to pay around £500,000 for VfL Osnabruck striker Erik Engelhardt, as per the Lancashire Telegraph.
Blackburn Rovers aren’t exactly flush for cash in this important summer transfer window.
It means business has been at a premium with a little over a month of the window passed. The only signing to date has been Northern Irish prospect Aodhan Doherty, who has arrived at Ewood Park on a permanent deal from Linfield.
Plenty of players have been linked with a move to the Championship club though. Among those mentioned in recent reports from Germany is striker Erik Engelhardt, who managed 10 goals as VfL Osnabruck were relegated from 2. Bundesliga.
Now, after the reports of interest, the Lancashire Telegraph has offered fresh insight.
They confirm that Blackburn Rovers have made an enquiry over a possible deal for Engelhardt, who would be keen on the move. He is expected to cost a fee in the region of £500,000, so he would be an affordable striker option for the East Lancashire side.
The report adds that Rovers ‘have all the information they need’ on Engelhardt and a possible deal. They now just have to decide whether to push on with the deal or not.
A shrewd signing
As Blackburn Rovers weigh up a move for Engelhardt, you have to feel the club need to bite the bullet sooner rather than later and bring some fresh faces in.
The club have to be smart with their budget but, in the striker hunt especially, bargains will be hard to come by. At £500,000, Engelhardt could prove to be a really shrewd signing.
There won’t be many other strikers available for that price who have scored goals at a good level before either. The Osnabruck man was their leading goal threat as they were relegated from the 2. Bundesliga.
Their drop to the third-tier has likely brought his asking price down. Given his success in the league, a move to a higher level seems justified and at half-a-million, the fee is certainly reasonable.
Whether Blackburn Rovers deem it within their reaches though, time will tell.
Supporting Szmodics
It’s abundantly clear that Rovers need to bring new faces into their attacking ranks this summer.
Talisman Sammie Szmodics carried the goalscoring burden last season with his golden boot campaign proving pivotal in their bid to stay up. Relying on him so heavily again would be a huge risk, so fresh attacking threats are needed.
Added competition in the attacking ranks should help bring the best out of the existing options while bringing new threat themselves.
Blackburn Rovers need to make moves sooner rather than later though. The new season is moving closer and closer and Championship rivals have already made serious inroads in their recruitment drives.
Eustace’s side risk being left behind if they don’t make moves soon, but it could take a sale or two for the business to really kickstart at Ewood Park.