After suffering the despairing ignominy of relegation with Hull City last season, seasoned defender Alex Bruce is set to leave the club at the expiration of his contract at the end of the month.

The 32-year-old has been with the club since 2012, and will be searching for a new home in the coming months after becoming one of the first victims of the summer clear out expected at Hull this offseason.

The former Manchester United trainee was released by the Old Trafford side in 2001 before linking up with the youth set up at Blackburn Rovers, and a return to Ewood Park could be on the cards.

Manager Tony Mowbray will spend the coming months preparing his side for their first season in the third tier of English football since 1980, which is a far cry from the 1994/95 campaign in which Rovers famously pipped local rivals Manchester United to the Premier League crown.

Mowbray will expect his side to instantly bounce back to the second tier, and the addition of Bruce would go a long way in achieving this goal.

Blackburn shipped 65 goals last season, and Mowbray will look to bolster his leaky defence ahead of the new campaign.

Bruce would add quality and experience to Rovers’ back line, and his organisational and leadership skills could prove vital to Blackburn’s expected promotion push.

Mowbray needs leaders in his side to drag his side through an arduous season of League One football, and Bruce fits the bill perfectly.

If a deal can be pulled off, then Blackburn’s defence could prove impenetrable next year.