BLACKBURN are heading for deadlock in their attempts to sign Norwegian starlet Morten Gamst Pedersen.

Rovers have yet to make a written bid for the 22-year-old winger because his club, Tromso, have not indicated if they will release him before their season ends in October.

And Tromso are also set to slap a £2.5 million price tag on Pedersen, which is £1 million more than Rovers' valuation

While Blackburn hope that his club will allow the player to leave mid-season, even though they are top of the Norwegian League, it's unlikely they would splash out such a large chunk of their summer transfer budget on one player.

Rovers chief executive John Williams said: "We have indicated verbally what sort of bid we would make but they have to indicate that they would sell him now.

"We can't wait until October for him to be released so discussions are continuing."

But a source close to Tromso says that the club is waiting for Rovers to table a bid first before they decide whether to release him.

As Blackburn's current valuation of the player is £1.5 million, it also seems that negotiations could break down over the price issue.

But while Pedersen is unlikely to put pressure on Tromso to release him, the opportunity to play in the Premiership might prove hard to resist to a player who Rovers feel is the natural replacement for Damien Duff.

Williams added: 'We've been lacking a left-sided midfielder since Duff left. We have a number of people who have played well there like David Thompson and Jonathon Douglas, but that's not their preferred position.

"That is a priority for us and we've been looking long and hard. We've seen Pedersen no fewer than eight times so we've been doing our homework.

"But they will have to sell him now and then we'll follow up with a formal bid."