Southampton striker Sam Gallagher is set to join Blackburn Rovers, according to Sam Wallace of the Telegraph.

Gallagher has had senior English league experience, playing for MK Dons, Blackburn Rovers and Birmingham City on loan, as well as playing for his current club Southampton numerous times.

After sending the striker out on loan three times, the Premier League side are now prepared to let the former England youth international leave St Mary's on a permanent deal.

According to the Telegraph's Sam Wallace, the fee for Gallagher is expected to be around the £5m mark. He also states that the deal is likely to go through this weekend, which will please Blackburn Rovers fans who are eager to see him announced.

The 23-year-old will be familiar with Ewood Park, where he played on loan for Rovers in the 2016/17 season. The club were relegated that season, however, the Lancashire side are likely to do a lot better this year, after a reasonably solid 15th place finish in the last campaign.

Here are three potential knock-on effects on Blackburn Rovers once the transfer for Sam Gallagher is completed.

Samuel to depart?

Dominic Samuel has not had the best couple of years at Blackburn Rovers since his permanent departure from Reading two years ago.

Samuel missed the 2018/19 season completely after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament at the start of that campaign. Even though the striker was highly rated during his time with Reading's academy, he hasn't made the impact on senior English football that he would have wanted to.

Danny Graham, Adam Armstrong and Ben Brereton are just three Rovers players who will be competing for the striker's spot at the start of the season. With the potential signing of Gallagher, this could freeze Samuel out of the first-team picture for a long time.

Josh Sims to join?

Sims has had mixed fortunes playing senior football. Even though his loan spell at Reading last season was quite poor, where he was sent back to Southampton in January, he has played for the Saints in the Premier League.

If Gallagher starts the season well, Southampton may be willing to also let winger Sims join Blackburn Rovers on loan. The connection between Gallagher and Sims from their time together in the Southampton U23s could pay dividends for Rovers if this does happen.

Perhaps this could be the start of an affiliation between Southampton and Blackburn Rovers. It could be mutually beneficial for both clubs, which could allow the Premier League side to profit from Blackburn Rovers developing their players.

An improved Championship attacking record

Blackburn Rovers are starting to build a very promising front line for the 2019/20 season. Danny Graham is a very reliable and experienced goalscorer who still has a couple of years to make an impact on the Championship.

Adam Armstrong and Ben Brereton are also very highly rated. The addition of Sam Gallagher could really help the club to fire themselves into the top half of the Championship table, where they scored 64 goals in the league last season.

Attacking midfielder Bradley Dack was amongst the goals last season, scoring 15 goals for the Lancashire side. All this attacking potential could come to life in the next campaign. What a season this could be for Tony Mowbray's side.