Championship side Blackburn Rovers are willing to cover Liverpool centre-back Ben Davies' wages and pay a loan fee to secure his services for the 2022/23 campaign, according to a Patreon report from journalist Alan Nixon.

The 26-year-old isn't short of interest from sides in the second tier following his temporary spell at Sheffield United last term, even though he was behind the likes of Jack Robinson, John Egan and Chris Basham towards the latter stages of the campaign.

Rovers are currently on the prowl for another centre-back with Darragh Lenihan and Jan Paul van Hecke both departing Ewood Park since the end of last season - and recently missed out recruiting Anel Ahmedhodzic.

They are yet to make a senior signing so far this summer - but are keen on making Davies one of their first additions and according to Nixon, are keen to get this deal over the line quickly.

Boro are also believed to be on the prowl for another central defender despite luring Lenihan away from Lancashire, with Grant Hall potentially on his way out of the Riverside Stadium before the summer window shuts.

And Stoke are another side that are reportedly in the race to secure his services, though it's currently unclear whether the Potters or Chris Wilder's side will be able to match or improve the terms offered by Jon Dahl Tomasson's men.

The Verdict:

Looking at the three sides from Davies' point of view, a move to Blackburn may be the most tempting at this stage considering the limited number of options they have in defence.

Coming into the best years of his career, he needs to be playing every week and he has the best chance of doing that at Ewood Park.

If he arrives in Lancashire, he will get the chance to play with some exciting young players and if they can perform as well as they did for much of last season, there's even a chance they could be in and around the promotion mix once again.

At the Riverside, it would be difficult to see him breaking into the starting lineup regularly at this stage with Anfernee Dijksteel, Dael Fry, Paddy McNair and Lenihan all available as options for Wilder's back three.

And at Stoke, Phil Jagielka, Aden Flint and Ben Wilmot will be providing him with stiff competition with Harry Souttar also set to come back later this year. The latter and Jagielka will probably be two of the first names on the teamsheet, so Davies could face a bitter tussle for that third starting spot.