BLACKBURN boss Graeme Souness is ready to beef up his attacking options with a cut-price swoop for Stockport hitman Shefki Kuqi.

Rovers HAVE already contacted County about the highly-rated Finnish international -- a player they have been tracking for some time.

And Souness could follow up with a firm offer in the region of £500,000 later this week.

"There has been some dialogue between us and Stockport during the last week or so," said chief executive John Williams.

The 24-year-old striker has impressed Rovers scouts with some eye-catching performances despite County's poor start to the season.

And Souness believes he could provide some extra muscle upfront as he looks to take some of the weight off the shoulders of people like Matt Jansen and Ciccio Grabbi.

Capped 13 times by his country, he has scored 10 times for County since he signed from FC Jokerit in January.

And he caused Rovers plenty of problems when the two sides drew at Edgeley Park at the back end of last season.