Blackburn Rovers pulled out of a loan deal for Bordeaux striker Josh Maja on the final day of the summer transfer window, a report from a print edition of The Sun (12/09, p64) has claimed.

Following the sale of last season's 29-goal top scorer Adam Armstrong to Southampton at the start of August, Rovers were on the lookout for a striker to add to their attacking ranks at Ewood Park.

However, the window would ultimately close without a new attacker joining Tony Mowbray's squad for the rest of the Championship campaign.

Now though, it seems as though Rovers had been close to completing such a deal, only for it to fall through at the final stages.

According to this latest update, Blackburn had been set to complete the loan signing of Maja from Bordeaux, only to pull out at the last minute due to concerns over injury, with the 22-year-old yet to play for his current club this season.

Since joining Bordeaux in 2019 after a prolific spell in League One with Sunderland, Maja has scored 11 goals in 48 games for the French club. He also spent time on loan with Fulham last season, scoring three goals in 15 games as the Cottagers were relegated from the Premier League.

It is thought that Maja is still keen to secure a return to England when the transfer market reopens in January.

The Verdict

This feels like a ridiculous stance for Blackburn to have taken with regards to pulling out of a deal for Maja.

With Armstrong gone, it is clear that Rovers needed to add to their attacking options this summer, and with Sam Gallagher and Ben Brereton on the books, there would have been time to get Maja up to full fitness rather than throwing him straight into the side if necessary.

But having decided not to do that, Rovers are going to find themselves badly short on experienced options upfront, if either Gallagher or Brereton are absent for any sort of reason over the next few months.

Indeed, Maja has also shown that he is capable of getting goals in the Football League, so he could have been a useful option for Mowbray to use this season.

You can't help but wonder therefore, whether this decision could come back to haunt Rovers in the not too distant future.