Blackburn Rovers are close to confirming the signing of striker Makhtar Gueye from RWD Molenbeek.

The 26-year-old completed a medical on Monday and is now set to sign permanently at Ewood Park. This deal represents the first noteworthy outlay from Rovers since selling Adam Wharton in January.

Of course, Gueye is an unknown quantity in English football having spent his career playing in Belgium and, briefly, in Spain.

So, we've drafted in some help to get the lowdown on Rovers' impending recruit. Here's the view of Oli O'Connell, a Recruitment Analyst who has worked in the Belgian Pro League for the past three years.

READ MORE: EXPERIENCED FORWARD TRAINING WITH ROVERS

What sort of profile is Makhtar Gueye, what can he offer a team?

He’s a target style 9 who has good height and understands how to use his body in duels. He’s relatively mobile, but tends to stay central and won’t do too much running into channels. He allows for direct play into his body and he’s a major threat from crosses. He will likely dominate Championship stats in terms of aerial duels won.

What are his main strengths and weaknesses?

As touched on, his main strength is his aerial prowess, both in terms of direct play into his body and then finishing attacks from crosses. He’s strong in duels and he’s improved his link play in the last couple of years too.

In terms of weakness, he’s a really big unit and he lacks that top-level speed and agility as a result, and he isn’t going to be someone who covers huge distances and pops up everywhere so he’s quite a niche 9 in modern-day terms. He's never been polished technically and that’s unlikely to change.

Do you think his skillset will suit the Championship? How does the Belgian Pro League translate, skill-level-wise?

The Pro League is a great level for younger players to develop, with some outstanding individual talent, but the bottom half of the League is relatively poor, which is where Gueye dominated.

The Championship is more duels-based and physically demanding, although they are relatively similar levels in terms of quality. Gueye’s physicality will allow him to dominate Championship defenders, but he will need to add intensity and consistency throughout 90 minutes as he’s quite temperamental currently.

11 goals for a relegated team is a decent tally. Is he a natural goal-scorer or does the team need to play to his strengths?

He isn’t a natural finisher, as I mentioned he’s technically quite scruffy and he doesn’t always pick the right finish or find corners. He’s outstanding with his head though, which is a dying art, so if he is provided with crosses he’s likely to score a few.

His area movement is good from all scenarios too, so he will find himself in scoring areas often and will likely score as a result of frequency rather than pure quality.

Any reservations about him adapting to English football? Whether that is on or off the pitch.

I think it’s fair to have some reservations. He didn’t adapt well to Spanish football at all, which is admittedly very different to both Belgian and English football.

He will need to right support around him and hopefully, he clicks with John Eustace and his teammates. If he does, and if the team is set up to suit his strengths, I have confidence he can make an impact.

How excited should Blackburn Rovers fans be?

I’m not sure excited is the right word, but it’s definitely an interesting signing. In the right environment, Makhtar has proven to be a clutch player and someone who can drag his team through games and score important goals.

He’s coming into peak age now, and he really needs to prove that he can put together a full season of strong form. If he’s motivated and well-supported, he’s the type of player who can become a talismanic figure. But equally, there’s a chance this could go very wrong!