Blackburn chairman happy to settle on Benjani as striker signing

Blackburn Rovers chairman John Williams says they're pleased to have snapped up former Manchester City striker Benjani Mwaruwari.

Benjani was signed as a free agent in the final days of the summer market.

Williams told the Lancashire Telegraph: " Back in January when we sold Benni for £2m we looked at an immediate replacement – Sam (Allardyce) was keen to get Benjani but Sunderland stepped in, so we decided to go with Franco (Di Santo), Niko (Kalinic) and Jason (Roberts).

"It worked for us. We had a good second half, seeing a 10th place finish.

"With Franco returning to Chelsea and effectively down to two strikers, our summer focus was to bring one, preferably two in.

"We have achieved this with Mame Diouf and Benjani. Our four strikers give a good balance of playing options, age and experience.

"We still had a balance of Benni’s fee available (less Mame Diouf’s loan fee) although phasing is an issue.

"Over a month ago we made a bid for a Premier League striker who we were told was available but he was withdrawn from the market.

"Subsequently we made bids in Sweden and Bulgaria but initially in both instances valuations were greater than ours.

"They were different types of players, both for the future, and on balance Sam opted for the experience of Benjani, following extensive ‘testing’ at Brockhall."

 
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