As Rovers close in on Japanese attacker Yuki Ohashi, here are all the details you need to know about work permits for signings from abroad.

Elite Significant Contribution (ESC) criteria for player visas was approved in the summer of 2023 to help English clubs sign foreign talent who would have fallen below the previous threshold.

A points system was in place after Brexit which made it difficult for teams outside the top flight to recruit from overseas markets, but there is now more flexibility over potential signings.

Under the current rules, Premier League and Championship clubs can allocate a maximum of four ESC slots to international players who would not have previously qualified. That drops to two slots for teams in League One and League Two.

Last season, two of the slots at Rovers were occupied by Leo Wahlstedt and Semir Telalovic, who have since left East Lancashire to join Aarhus and Ulm respectively.

Therefore, securing a work permit for Ohashi should be a formality as Rovers look to bolster their attacking options ahead of the upcoming campaign.

A six-figure fee has been agreed for the Sanfrecce Hiroshima attacker rather than the £1million reported in Japan.

Should the Ohashi deal get over the line, he will become the club’s first senior signing of the summer as they aim to build on last term's 19th-place finish.

With Ipswich now chasing Sam Szmodics, who became the first Rovers player to hit 30 goals in a single season since Alan Shearer, there is an even greater urgency to bring in new faces.

READ MORE: Finishing and pressing - What Blackburn Rovers could get from Yuki Ohashi