STEVE Kean will fly home from India tomorrow with his summer wish list approved and ready to go – after spending the last five days plotting Blackburn Rovers’ Premier League top 10 assault.
The Rovers boss has combined a holiday with his wife, given as a gift by Venky’s, with discussing his top transfer targets with his bosses ahead of a busy few months in the transfer market.
Kean has been told he will have a bumper budget to bolster his squad, with the whole £16.5million received from the sale of Phil Jones to add to his cash pot, and has spent the last week finalising his list of targets.
Aston Villa defender James Collins and Swedish free agent Sebastian Larsson are understood to be on his list of domestic targets with the club’s owners still bidding to also land a ‘landmark signing’ this summer.
The Lancashire Telegraph understands Roma’s prol-ific Montenegrin striker Mirko Vucinic is a top big name target, although the likes of Juventus’ Amauri and even Manchester City’s Emmanuel Adebayor have also been linked as potential new strikers.
Brazilian Miranda is another defender being looked at although his agent still expects the Sao Paolo man to honour a pre contract agreement with Atletico Madrid – despite Rovers attempting to hijack the deal with the offer of doubling his wages.
The club are also understood to have been offered Argentine defender Diego Novaretti, a 26-year-old centre back who currently plays at Mexican club Toluca.
Jones’ departure to Manchester United, together with Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur set to test Rovers’ resolve over Chris Samba, leaves the club now desperate to add defensive cover.
With Miranda still expected to move to Spain, according to his Brazilian agent Pedro Panzelli, Collins could prove a cheap alternative for Kean as he looks to splash the cash in his efforts to boost Rovers’ firepower.
Reading skipper Matt Mills could also appear on Kean’s radar with several Premier League clubs including Wolves chasing his signature.
Swedish international Larsson has long been in Rovers’ sights, with Kean having almost landed him in January, although no official approach has yet been made to the midfielder.
Sources close to the ex-Birmingham midfielder have revealed he has at least three Premier League clubs looking at him, having already turned down several foreign suitors, and he will make his decision on his future within the fortnight.
Kean has yet to decide whether he will move back in for Larsson, with several other options available to him, although his versatility across midfield could yet persuade him to swoop.
Efforts are also continuing to bring Schalke midfielder Jermaine Jones back to Ewood Park, after the American international impressed on loan last season.
Meanwhile 27-year-old Vucinic has told Roma he wants to quit the club to alert Venky’s of his availability but, still under contract for two more years, would cost Rovers around £16million.
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