Blackburn Rovers are close to completing the signing of left-back Harry Pickering from Crewe Alexandra, a report from The Lancashire Telegraph has revealed.

Rovers have been linked with a move for the 22-year-old throughout much of the January transfer window, with Championship rivals Stoke also credited with an interest, while Sheffield Wednesday also reportedly tabled a bid for the full-back.

Now however, it looks as though Rovers could be about to get their man in the final few days of the January transfer window.

According to this latest update, Blackburn and Crewe are close to reaching an agreement over a deal for Pickering, which is expected to go through before the transfer deadline on Monday night.

It has also been suggested that it is possible Rovers could loan Pickering back to Crewe for the remainder of the season, with the Railwaymen currently tenth in the League One table following promotion in the previous campaign.

A graduate of Crewe's academy, Pickering has made a total of 148 appearances in all competitions for the club, scoring ten goals and providing 13 assists in that time.

Pickering could become Blackburn's second signing of the January transfer window, with the Lancashire club having already signed centre back Jarrad Branthwaite on loan from Everton for the rest of the season.

The Verdict

This looks to be a really good piece of business for Rovers if they can indeed get it done.

Pickering is clearly a left-back of whom much is expected after an impressive start to his career, meaning he could be an asset for many years to come.

Indeed, with Blackburn's two senior left-backs - Amari'i Bell and Leeds loanee Barry Douglas - both set to see their contracts expire at Ewood Park at the end of this season, this is a position that Rovers were going to have to address sooner rather than later.

The fact they could be set to get this deal done now, does therefore take some of the pressure off them when it comes to their business in the summer transfer window.