Blackburn : no summer "fire sale"

Blackburn's owners Venky's are playing down talk of a summer fire sale following the recent departure of Chris Samba to Anzhi. Rovers director Vineeth Rao claims the club were reluctant to see the big defender leave for Russia despite the attraction of their £12m offer. However, he is adamant that speculation suggesting that more big name stars could be heading for the exit door at the end of the season is wide of the mark. Rao insisted that Premier League is their main target in the immediate future and after that, plans would be formulated to make the team stronger rather than weakener. He told the Lancashire Telegraph: "There are no plans to sell any more key players, why would there be? Our immediate focus is on staying up in the Premier League. "We hope Chris Samba will be the last key departure. There are no plans to sell any more key players because we want to improve the squad. "We want to add to the squad and improve it, not sell the players we have got. We are not planning on selling any more key players. "It was not even our intention to sell Chris Samba. We did not want to sell him. "We wanted him on the pitch because he has been a big player but in the end we had to respect his wishes because he wanted to leave. "We had to respect his wishes. He has played for Blackburn for five years and has been a very important player." Despite his comments, rumours persist that Rovers are trying to find takers in the Asia and America market for Vince Grella and Michel Salgado, where the transfer windows are still open, as they seek to remove the duo from their wage bill.

Samba Set For Blackburn Return

Blackburn could be boosted by the return of Chris Samba at Manchester City after he reportedly settled his differences with Steve Kean. The 27-year-old influential central defender has not played in the Rovers' first-team since the defeat against Stoke on January 2 because boss Kean insisted his mind was not on the job in hand due to Rovers' refusal to grant him his wish to leave Ewood Park in the transfer window. And, while it has been three weeks since the window closed and Samba has had time to come to terms with failing to win a move to Tottenham and QPR, who had two bids turned down for him, a hamstring injury has restricted his chances of returning to the first team fold. However, with Rovers not in action last weekend due to the FA Cup fifth round, Samba has had time to get back to full fitness and the Daily Mail claims he was welcomed back to training with Kean and the rest of the first team squad at the club's Brockhall HQ on Monday morning. Therefore if he comes through this week's training with no problems, then there is a great chance that Samba will be back in the Rovers' starting XI against Premier League leaders City at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.

Samba set for £8M QPR Move

Chris Samba will ignore Harry Redknapp's Spurs and looks set to join QPR instead after Mark Hughes' appointment at Loftus Road today. Samba was on QPR's list of targets before Hughes took charge but was understood to be 'lukewarm' about playing under Neil Warnock who was sacked on Sunday after a run of poor results. However, the £8million-rated defender would be much happier to link up with the man who brought him to the Premier League from Germany while he was in the Ewood Park hotseat. It has now been reported that Samba has told friends he is excited about linking up with a manager who gave him his break, but QPR will first have to match Rovers valuation for the player, who signed a new deal with Blackburn only last season.

Samba wants to join Arsenal

Chris Samba has stunned Blackburn Rovers by pleading to join Arsenal, according to a report in 'The Sun'. The Rovers skipper has said: "I want to play Champions League football. Which player doesn't dream of that?" The giant French defender, 27, signed a new five-year deal at Ewood Park only a few months ago. But he insisted: "A player who has no ambition to play at a higher level has made a mistake and chosen the wrong sport. "I don't know what is happening with Arsenal because I am not dealing with it and it's not my problem. "At the minute I am still at Blackburn but it would be a big lie if I told you 'everything is good and I don't want to play in the Champions League'. "I don't know what the board and the manager at Blackburn are planning or what provisions they have made for signing new players. "It is difficult for me at the moment because I'm just waiting to see what happens and concentrating on my preparation for the new season." Rovers are currently player in the Barclays Asia Trophy tournament in Hong Kong also featuring Chelsea and Aston Villa. Gunners boss Arsene Wenger has been weighing up a £12 million bid for Samba for months but has so far failed to make a firm offer. Wenger could be lining up a defensive double whammy by also landing Everton's Phil Jagielka before the Premier League kicks off on August 13.

Liverpool to Launch Adam and Dann Bids

Kenny Dalglish could take Liverpool's summer transfer spending to more than £35m by the end of the week should he lodge bids for both Charlie Adam and Scott Dann, but the Scot will face competition from Arsenal if he chooses to step up his interest in the Birmingham defender.Dalglish has already lavished £16m on the former Sunderland midfielder Jordan Henderson and is expected to lodge a formal offer of around £9m with Blackpool for their captain in the next 48 hours.Adam is known to be keen to move to Anfield and formal talks with the Bloomfield Road club are expected to start on Thursday.But the Liverpool manager faces a rather more complicated task in attempting to recruit the defensive cover he believes his squad requires, with Dalglish weighing up the merits of moving for Dann, a boyhood Liverpool fan, with the risk of missing out on a second defensive target in a week.Liverpool had hoped to beat both Arsene Wenger and Manchester United to the signature of Phil Jones -- although the Anfield club always feared losing out to the champions should they enter the race for the Blackburn player's signature -- but, since the completion of his transfer to Old Trafford, both Liverpool and Arsenal have been forced to examine alternatives.Top of the list both on Merseyside and in north London is Dann, with Wenger thought to be considering moving for the 24-year-old as well as Blackburn's towering Congolese international Christopher Samba as he seeks to add height and power to his side.Despite his childhood allegiance to Anfield, it is believed Dann is tempted by the prospect of Champions League football on offer at the Emirates, while Wenger believes he offers better value for money than Bolton's Gary Cahill and the same technical accomplishment.Liverpool are determined to infuse Dalglish's squad with a core of British talent and have identified Dann as a potential complement to Jamie Carragher, Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel.The club are examining a number of other candidates -- including Lyon's Dejan Lovren -- but their hand may be forced by Arsenal's interest.Dalglish is also hopeful of concluding swift deals for Arsenal left-back Gael Clichy, Aston Villa winger Stewart Downing, Roma goalkeeper Doni and Ipswich striker Connor Wickham as he attempts to conduct the majority of his transfer activity before Liverpool return for pre-season training at Melwood on July 4.The Anfield club are also expected to sign Frenchman Sylvain Marveaux, the Rennes winger, on a free transfer.

Goalkeeper Pepe Reina has undergone surgery on a double hernia. However, the Spanish international is expected to be fit to return for the start of pre-season training