BLACKBURN boss Graeme Souness could be ready to swoop for Manchester United centre back Henning Berg in a bid to bolster his defensive resources.

Rovers chief executive John Williams today revealed Souness is considering a move for the Norwegian international.

And, as I understand it, he could now become the Ewood chief's top target after being knocked back in his attempts to sign St Etienne stopper Lucien Mettomo.

"When our bid for Mettomo was rejected Graeme started to look at a number of other options," said Williams.

"And Henning Berg's name has been mentioned, along with Rigobert Song at Liverpool."

Berg was a popular figure at Ewood after Kenny Dalglish paid Norwegian outfit Lillestrom £400,000 for his services in January 1993. He later moved to Old Trafford for £5m in August 1997 and played a vital part in Alex Ferguson's treble-winning team. However, he has struggled to hold down a regular spot over the last 12 months.

And now he has started to make noises that he is unhappy at being just a squad player, suggesting he could be ready to bring down the curtain on his United career.

Manchester City and Celtic are also rumoured to be interested in the player, who turned 31 last Friday. A return to Ewood may yet appeal, however, as it was Rovers who first gave him his break in English football.

Souness has made the recruitment of a centre back his top priority after adding to his striking resources with the recent capture of Kaba Diawara.

So far, his attempts to land Cameroon international Mettomo have fallen on deaf ears with St Etienne rejecting a bid of 40 million francs -- which works out at about £3.5m.

Rovers are now considering whether or not to go back in with an improved offer around the £4m mark.

But Souness is keen to strengthen his hand sooner rather than later and may not be prepared to wait. So Berg has now become a very real alternative.

And, though Song has also been mentioned, the Norwegian is considered to be a more tried and tested option.