MARK Draper is on the verge of leaving Aston Villa and that could alert Blackburn Rovers, whose need for midfield re-inforcements has become even more urgent following the long-term loss of Garry Flitcroft.

Draper, a similar type of box-to-box midfielder as Flitcroft, has turned down a loan move to Wolves because of his desire to secure a permanent transfer away from Villa Park where he has been unable to claim a regular place in the starting line-up.

But people close to the player say he is set to move, probably in the next few days, and Villa are willing to sell - though they may try to hold out for the £3.2 million they paid to Leicester for him.

Rovers boss Brian Kidd, who will welcome back Lee Carsley to the side at West Bromwich Albion tomorrow, is continually walking a midfield tightrope because of long-term injuries.

Both Jason McAteer and Billy McKinlay have yet to return to the squad and, as we revealed last night, Flitcroft faces a further four months on the sidelines following more knee surgery.

And Kidd admits it's an area that needs strengthening.

"That's always been a problem here," he said. "Going back to Billy (McKinlay) when I came in and Tim (Sherwood) leaving and people tend to forget that Dario Marcolin's left as well.

"It only leaves us one recognised midfield player in Lee Carsley."

However, Kidd didn't appear close to making a plunge into the market today after Flitcroft's need for surgery on Wednesday night came as an unexpected setback when he looked poised for a return to first-team duty.

"I'm not that far down the road because of what happened to Garry," the manager added.

"We didn't really know Garry was a having a wee bit of a problem, although thank God it's nothing sinister. But it will take time.

"Garry was working ever so hard in training, doing his remedial work, extra stuff in the afternoons and his weight programme.

"He couldn't have done any more and the club couldn't have done any more. He's trained ever so hard to get a base and we didn't really know what to expect until they had a look." Draper looks like the type of player who could help solve Rovers' midfield problems.

And, much closer to home, Bolton's Danish midfielder Per Frandsen is definitely available.

Frandsen, who impressed many people even when Bolton were relegated from the Premiership, has a decent goalscoring record from midfield and his club are known to be strapped for cash.

David Dunn and debutant Wayne Gill filled the midfield berths in Rovers' mid-week Worthington Cup success at Portsmouth.

But Carsley will be back at the Hawthorns, along with the bulk of players who sat out the Worthington Cup tie for a variety of reasons.

"Lee's trained. It's just been light, he's not done any heavy stuff but I don't think he'd need that coming off international duty and playing again right away," said Kidd, who also confirmed that Egil Ostenstad will be fit after shaking off the knock he picked up against Tranmere a week ago.

And Kidd was also checking on Craig Short, Simon Grayson, Jason Wilcox, Damien Duff and Kevin Gallacher today. Keeper John Filan was rested in midweek and Dunn seems to have shrugged off a bout of sickness but Jeff Kenna could be a doubt after picking up a 'dead leg' but .

It means that Kidd will have a strong squad with fierce competition in virtually every area bar midfield.

Rovers are bidding for a fourth successive victory at The Hawthorns but West Brom are still unbeaten this season and will provide arguably the toughest test so far of Kidd's side.

The starting line-up is likely to come from: Filan, Kelly, Kenna, Peacock, Dailly, Davidson, Johnson, Dunn, Gillespie, Ward, Blake, Jansen, Carsley, Short, Grayson, Wilcox, Ostenstad, Duff.

West Brom have signed veteran midfielder Andy Townsend from Middlesbrough for around £50,000 in time to play him against Rovers.

And, last night, manager Brian Little also swooped on former club Stoke to sign Larus Sigurdsson, for £300,000.

The 26-year-old Icelandic international midfielder had a medical and was due to complete the formalities of his move in time to make his debut tomorrow.

West Brom's squad is expected to be: Miller, Burgess, Carbon, Gabbidon, De Freitas, Flynn, Sneekes, Maresca, Kilbane, Hughes, Evans, Whitehead, Quinn, Oliver, Potter, Van Blerk, Sigurdsson, Townsend.

Rovers Academy sides play Middlesbrough tomorrow with the under-17s away and the under-19s at home (kick-off 1pm).

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