Fresh Ellis Simms twist as Blackburn Rovers stance emerges

Blackburn Rovers haven’t yet pursued a move to sign Everton striker Ellis Simms this summer, according to the Lancashire Telegraph.

The Liverpool Echo reported on 24 June that the Championship club, alongside Sunderland and Ipswich Town, were interested in signing the Toffees striker.

Simms, 22, enjoyed a fruitful loan spell with the Black Cats in the first half of last season, netting seven goals from 17 Championship outings.

Destined for Championship move

Although Simms showed plenty of promise during his loan spell with Sunderland last season, cutting this move short in the January transfer window ultimately stumped his progression.

After Sean Dyche was brought in as manager, Simms struggled for game time on Merseyside, amassing just 219 minutes of Premier League action across 11 appearances.

Considering the dearth of attacking options Everton possessed last year, and still, Dyche’s willingness to play a false nine instead of Simms, a move away from the club is certainly on the cards this summer.

Whether the Toffees want a permanent fee or a loan move is still questionable, but it seems like a number of Championship clubs are interested in his services.

The Englishman is a proven goalscorer in the Championship and, at 22, still has plenty of room for progression.

However, with Everton likely to strengthen their attacking departments this summer, Simms looks destined for another season on the bench if he remains at Goodison Park.

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A round-up of the latest behind-the-scenes news at Blackburn Rovers as Leicester City are linked with Fulham captain Tom Cairney

Tom Cairney sell-on fee

Blackburn Rovers fans have turned their attentions to Leicester in the hope of a cash injection. The Foxes have been linked with a move for Fulham captain, Tom Cairney.

Rovers sold the midfielder for around £3million in 2015, swapping Ewood Park for Craven Cottage. At 32, Cairney’s peak years are behind him and he lost his place in the Cottagers’ team last season.

Cairney has one year left on his contract and has been linked with a move to recently relegated Leicester. With James Maddison leaving for Tottenham, there is a vacancy in the Foxes’ midfield.

It’s understood that any sell-on clause relating to Cairney’s move to Leicester is based on around 10 per cent of profit. With that in mind, Rovers would need the deal to exceed the £3m mark they sold Cairney for, in order to generate any income.

The deal in David Raya’s contract is around 12.5 per cent of profit if Brentford cash in, which could be worth around £4m to Rovers. The club need to sell players or generate money through pre-existing clauses to spend in the transfer market.

Gary Rowett on Millwall bids

Millwall boss Gary Rowett was coy on whether the Lions would bid again for Lewis Travis after Rovers turned down their first offer.

The Lions offered a six-figure sum, believed to be around £800,000, for the Rovers skipper. That was categorically rejected by the club, who value Travis far higher, with three years left on his deal.

Rowett insisted Millwall are working hard to bring in new signings but are trying to keep their plans under wraps. He offered little indication whether they’d be back in again for Travis.

“When you’re trying to strengthen a team that has challenged at the right end of the Championship for a while now then of course bids are going to be going in,” Lions boss Rowett told South London Press. “Of course, there are going to be meetings, opportunities and attempts to do signings.

“What we’ve tried to do is not really share that publicly. I don’t think it is fair to do that. When you are also talking, sometimes, about other team’s players then it is not necessarily respectful.

“We always try to do our business in the right way, which means very much under the radar. We are working very hard. What you want to do and what you are able to do – timeframe-wise – are always two very different things in this window.

“Everybody has the aim to get all their players in before they come back for pre-season but the reality is that no one ever does that. I’ll let other people speculate and write stories on what they think we’re trying to do.”

Rovers are expected to launch their new home kit towards the end of next week ahead of their first pre-season friendly against Accrington Stanley.

As they did last season, Rovers will play two 60-minute matches against their local opponents. The new home strip will be in action after the club announced it would be unveiled next week.

The photoshoots for the new kit have taken place and supporters can expect to feast their eyes on the traditional blue and white halves. An initially limited number of kits will be available for fans to buy with the main shipment arriving in early August before the season begins against West Brom.