After Sky Sports journalist Keith Downie revealed on Twitter on Tuesday night that Blackburn were one of several sides interested in newly released Middlesbrough winger Stewart Downing, there has understandably been a good deal of scepticism about the potential transfer amongst many Rovers fans.

At 34-years-old, Downing is unlikely to be a regular feature in Rovers' side, and his wages will not be cheap.

This however, is not a deal that may be quite as ridiculous as many Rovers fans appear to think it is.

Last weekend midfielder Craig Conway announced that he will leave the club after five and a half in the summer, and while the Scot's departure may not have been a huge surprise to many of a Rovers persuasion, the general consensus appears to have been that keeping Conway would have been a more sensible move than bringing in Downing.

That however may have been taken out of Rovers' hands.

Conway has made it clear that he has no intention of ending his playing career just yet, and is keen to get more game time than he had been given in the past couple of seasons at Ewood Park, making the decision to part ways Conway's rather than the club's.

If that is indeed the case, then the winger's departure may have left the club in a difficult position. While no longer a regular, Rovers may well have been hoping to keep a player of Conway's experience and ability around the club, not least given his impressive and significant contributions to some of Rovers' most important wins of the season just gone.

With that option now out of their hands, Rovers - who are already under pressure to build a squad in the summer transfer window that will be capable of a mooted push for the play-offs - needing to find a replacement for Conway on top of the other areas of the squad they already needed to strengthen.

When you then take into account Downing's own experience, ability, and availability on a free transfer, the winger suddenly appears to be a rather suitable alternative option for the club to bring to Ewood Park.

It is not a signing that would transform Rovers overnight on its own, it would at least cover one base that Rovers now need sorting, and that in itself is another step in the right direction for a club that is slowly but surely working its way down the long road back.