Sam Allardyce has admitted he is struggling to lure a striker to Blackburn Rovers (7/1 to be relegated) in order to boost his squad ahead of a long Premier League season.
The former Bolton and Newcastle manager currently only has Jason Roberts and Nikola Kalinic as established top-flight strikers on his books, with untested forwards such as David Hoilett, Aaron Doran and Maceo Rigters his only other attacking options at this point in time.
He was forced to stand and watch his Blackburn (25/1 Premiership without Top Six 2010/11) side go down to a 3-0 defeat to Championship side, and north-west rivals, Preston North End in a friendly game at Deepdale this week.
Allardyce admitted it was “not great” from his side and he will certainly be wanting to bring more out of his players if they are to improve on their 10th-placed finish in the Premier League last season.
Blackburn kick off their Premier League campaign against Everton (Blackburn 7/5 to win, Everton 8/5, draw 11/5) on August 14th and their experienced manager is hoping he can have secured the signature of more attacking firepower.
Allardyce has been linked with moves for ex-Manchester City forward Benjani, David Nugent and even Real Madrid legend Raul this summer.
He is also reportedly interested in bringing former Rovers striker Matt Derbyshire back to the Premier League from Greek side Olympiakos.
The Blackburn manager faces competition to get the signature of any of the above-mentioned attackers and he has admitted that the club’s finances are making it hard for him to get quality strikers to Ewood Park
“When you haven’t got as much money as everyone else, it makes it difficult to find the right player to make an impact for you,” said Allardyce.
“It is not a striker we are looking for to make the numbers up, it is a striker we are looking for to make an impact by challenging Jason Roberts and Niko Kalinic. That is extremely difficult for us at the moment.”
One of the forwards currently at Ewood Park remains convinced he could be the one to get goals for the club next season.
Dutch forward Rigters has failed to impress since arriving from NAC Breda in 2007, making only two appearances, but has issued a rallying cry to Allardyce.
He told the Lancashire Telegraph: “I know I can play football and I know I can score goals here.
“I’ve scored a lot of goals in the reserves but I have to see where I’m going to start playing football. I hope it?s at Blackburn because I like the club and I really want to play in the Premier League.”
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