Niall Ennis has joined Stoke City on a permanent deal, bringing an end to his six-month stay at Blackburn Rovers.

The striker has been expected to leave Ewood Park throughout the January transfer window. A move to Bolton Wanderers looked most likely but that deal fell through due to finances.

Barnsley and Oxford United were also interested in taking Ennis back to League One, where he scored 14 goals last season as Plymouth Argyle won the title. Oakwell looked a likely destination but instead, he is now a Stoke City player.

In a somewhat surprising turn of events, he has now completed a permanent switch to the Potters. A Championship move had seemed unlikely for Ennis but he will now team up with his former boss, Steven Schumacher.

The deal is undisclosed but The Lancashire Telegraph understands the fee is in the region of 500K with future add-ons also included in the agreement.

Schumacher managed Ennis at Argyle before making the move over to the Bet365 Stadium himself in December. The 24-year-old has not been involved for Rovers in the last month despite being fit.

Injury issues have plagued the striker's time at Ewood Park. He signed on a free transfer from Plymouth in the summer, signing a four-year deal and won't have to wait long to return to Rovers, with Stoke travelling to Ewood Park on February 10.

However, a niggling groin issue kept him out of pre-season, leaving him behind the rest of the squad. He then suffered a knee injury which ruled him out for six weeks before a hamstring problem sidelined him for a further fortnight.

That left Rovers short up front with Sam Gallagher on the sidelines and Ennis never managed to get a run of games to get his match sharpness back. He was left out of the matchday squad once Gallagher returned and an exit always felt likely after that.

With Duncan McGuire set to join the club, it would have further pushed Ennis down the pecking order. In the end, it was agreed that a permanent parting was best for both parties.