BLACKBURN boss Graeme Souness is weighing up a summer move for Norwegian international winger Morten Gamft Pedersen.
The Rovers chief was in Oslo on Wednesday night to watch Norway's friendly with Russia.
And I can reveal Tromso flyer Pedersen was one of several targets who Souness ran the rule over as he begins to formulate his plans for next season.
Pedersen is widely regarded as one of the hottest young talents in Scandinavia and he's one of the main reasons behind Tromso's surge to the top of the Norwegian First Division.
However, Tromso officials have slapped a £2 million price-tag on the 22-year-old and that could end up pricing him out of a dream move to the Premiership.
"Pedersen was one of several players I went over to watch in midweek but he could be too pricey for us," said Souness today.
"The days of us paying big money for players are long gone so we are going to have cut our cloth accordingly."
Souness's top priority this summer will be the recruitment of a natural left-sided player to fill the void left by Damien Duff.
Pedersen would certainly fit that bill as he plays in that position for the Norwegian national side.
But he's one of several options currently being considered by Souness and unless his club drop their asking price then a deal would be difficult to push through.
Souness also took the opportunity to cast his eye over several other potential targets, including central midfielder Magne Hoset.
"Friendlies are not always the best games on which to judge players but it was a good game of football and I enjoyed it," added Souness.
Meanwhile, Martin Andresen also seized the chance to impress Souness by scoring in Norway's 3-2 victory over Russia.
The 26-year-old is currently on loan with Rovers until the end of the season and Souness has yet to decide whether or not to offer him a permanent deal when the current arrangement comes to an end.
"We are not going to make any decisions on anything like that until the end of the season," added the Rovers boss.
"All we are concentrating on at the moment is getting the point which would make us safe. That's all we are thinking about at this moment in time."
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