Blackburn Rovers are closing in on a deal for Rangers centre-back Lorenzo Amoruso.

As I understand it, a fee in the region of £1.25 million has been agreed between the two clubs following a dramatic U-turn by the Scottish giants.

And Rovers have been given permission to start negotiations with the player's agent, even though Rangers are currently locked in a battle with Celtic for the Scottish title.

Officials at Rovers today confirmed that negotiations are 'progressing' and they are confident of striking a deal for the defender soon.

And manager Graeme Souness could be poised to make it a double swoop as a fee for Vratislav Gresko has also been agreed with Parma, too.

Souness has been tracking Amoruso for some time as we exclusively revealed last month.

He was initially put off when Rangers slapped a £2million valuation on his head, even though the 31-year-old will be out of contract in 12 months' time.

However, the Gers have since had a change of heart and their decision to significantly reduce their asking price has paved the way for Rovers to resurrect their interest.

Amoruso is believed to be keen on a move to England at this stage in his career.

He has spent the last six years at Ibrox after Walter Smith paid Fiorentina £4.5 million to take him to Scotland.

Rangers still have two games left to play in their battle with Celtic for the Scottish Premier League title.

But if a deal can be struck then Amoruso looks set to make his farewell appearance for the Gers at Hampden on 31 May when the title-chasers face Dundee in the Tennent's Scottish Cup final.

Meanwhile, Rovers are also making rapid progress in their attempts to land Gresko on a permanent basis.

A fee in the region of £1.5 million has now been agreed with Parma and the club have made an offer to the player in regard to personal terms.

Gresko appeared to enjoy his loan spell at Ewood and the indications are he would like to make the switch permanent.

The Slovakian international is currently recovering from a foot injury after a challenge from Leeds defender Danny Mills left him with three broken bones.

But he is expected to be ready for the start of next season and Rovers are keen to push a deal through after he made a big impression during his time at Ewood.

Meanwhile, reports that Chelsea midfielder Jody Morris has agreed a five year contract with Rovers have been denied by the club.

Blackburn Rovers enjoyed some success at the races yesterday.

Spectrometer, a horse co-owned by Rovers trio Garry Flitcroft, David Dunn and Matt Jansen, finished third in the 4.10 at York.

It was the 100/30 joint favourite.