Blackburn Rovers boss Mark Hughes confirmed he was in Spain last week to take in Atletico Madrid's victory over Espanyol.

"It was a decent enough game but no more than that," said Hughes.

"They were two decent quality sides and it was just interesting to get a feel of what's happening over there. I was able to speak to a number of people about a number of players over there who might become available, and their situations.

"So it was a good exercise in terms of being able to meet people who might be able to point us in the right direction."

Hughes has already made it clear he plans to freshen up his squad with a number of new faces this summer and, by all accounts, that work has already started.

"We have already started the process but, in fairness, it probably never ends," he told the Lancashire Evening Telegraph. "But it's early days yet."