Blackburn Rovers boss Tony Mowbray has told the Lancashire Telegraph that the club once enquired about signing Reading striker Lucas Joao when the striker played for Sheffield Wednesday. 

The Portuguese front man has been one of the standout marksmen in the Championship this term, netting 17 league goals for the Royals as they battle to make the end of season play-offs.

Rovers travel to the Madejski Stadium tonight to take on the Berkshire outfit and their manager is certainly wary of the threat posed by the 27-year-old frontman.

Speaking to the publication, Mowbray was quick to admit that he did previously make an approach to sign the striker when he plied his trade for Wednesday:

“Lucas Joao is a good footballer, I’ve gone on record before to say that we’ve enquired about Lucas Joao when he was at Sheffield Wednesday having worked with him when I first arrived here.

“I think he’s scored 17 league goals, he’s a very talented boy, he’s got physicality as well, he knows where the net is, he’s big, strong and score lots of different types of goals.”

Now into his second season at Reading, Joao has scored 28 goals in all for the second tier outfit and will be seeking to add to his tally this evening.

The Verdict 

Rovers will certainly feel aggrieved to a degree that they didn't nab Joao all that time ago ahead of Reading, however they do have an in-form marksmen of their own in the form of Adam Armstrong.

Clubs up and down the country have stories of players that they previously missed out on and for that reason I don't think Mowbray will lose too much sleep over it.

Keeping Joao quiet in tonight's game will be vital if the away side are to pick up maximum points, with the same player having ran riot at Ewood Park earlier this term.

Given Blackburn's recent inconsistencies in the league, it would be fair to assume that Reading will claim three points on home soil this evening.