Football League World
·16 July 2024
Football League World
·16 July 2024
Blackburn Rovers are interested in signing Osnabruck striker Erik Engelhardt.
Blackburn Rovers are interested in signing Osnabruck striker Erik Engelhardt in the summer transfer window.
That is according to German outlet Bild, who claim that the striker is likely to leave his current employers following their relegation to the 3. Bundesliga, and while his representatives are in talks over an exit, there have been no discussions between Osnabruck and Rovers as of yet.
The Lancashire outfit will be looking to make improvements in their squad wherever they can, as they will want to avoid what happened last season, where they found themselves fighting for their lives at the bottom end of the table rather than pushing for the play-offs.
It was thanks to Sammie Szmodics’ goals that Blackburn ended up beating the drop, and now John Eustace will be keen to add more firepower to his side.
Journalist Alan Nixon has claimed that Blackburn Rovers are operating on a tight budget this summer.
Therefore, the Championship side may have to be clever in where they look for reinforcements in the market.
It appears as though their search to add another forward to their squad has taken them to Germany's third tier, having already done some transfer business in that country this summer when selling Semir Telalovic to Ulm after an unsuccessful year-long stint in England.
According to German outlet Bild, Blackburn are interested in signing Osnabruck striker Engelhardt.
The report states that the 26-year-old is expected to leave the 3. Bundesliga side in this transfer window following their relegation.
But it goes on to add that while the player representatives are in talks about an exit from Osnabruck for Engelhardt, the two clubs have yet to hold transfer talks themselves.
Furthermore, the Lancashire side is not the only team interested in the German, with several second tier German clubs also keen on signing the striker, with the report stating there have been “loose talks” with two clubs - LASK Linz and Lugano of Austria and Switzerland respectively have been linked within the last month, as well as Nurnberg, Hannover and Karlsruhe.
Engelhardt joined Osnabruck in July 2022 on a free transfer after leaving Energie Cottbus.
The forward had been with Cottbus for a single season, but the move to Osnabruck would have been considered a step-up.
In Engelhardt’s first season with Osnabruck, he helped the club achieve promotion to Bundesliga 2, as he scored 11 goals in 32 league appearances.
He then followed that successful campaign by scoring 10 goals in 32 Bundesliga 2 games, becoming the club’s biggest threat in front of goal. He was just unable to keep the German side in the division however.
The 26-year-old has played 69 times for the German side, scoring 21 goals and chipping in with nine assists. Englehardt still has two
years left to run on his contract, so they will be looking to get a transfer fee for a player who has been in good form in front of goal.
Engelhardt has played in Germany for all of his football career, so there would be a concern about his lack of English football were he to sign for Blackburn.
But that may be the only concern with this signing, as the striker has shown in the last two seasons that he is prolific in front of goal, something that Blackburn definitely needs.
In fact, he has scored goals wherever he has played, so this could be a really smart addition for Rovers, as he may be a signing that may not cost as much as say Lyndon Dykes, who Blackburn have also been linked with in recent days once again.