"Could be part of a bidding war" - Pundit urges Blackburn Rovers to make January move to fill Sammie Szmodics void | OneFootball

Carlton Palmer spoke exclusively to Football League World about Blackburn Rovers' interest in Peterborough United winger Kwame Poku

Pundit Carlton Palmer has advised Blackburn Rovers to complete the signing of Peterborough United's Kwame Poku, who he believes could be a replacement for Sammie Szmodics.

Blackburn have enjoyed a largely positive start to the 2024/25 Championship campaign and they find themselves in sixth position after 12 matches.

John Eustace's side represent something of a surprise package, you could argue, given that they weren't tipped to be competitive but remain situated in the play-offs at the time of writing despite operating on an extremely tight transfer budget and had to contend with the loss of Szmodics back in the summer.

Naturally, goalscoring is becoming a challenge for Blackburn, who were prolific in the early throes of the season but have just begun to dry up in the final third. They've scored on only two occasions in their last five matches - three of which have ended in defeat - while no player has found the back of the net more times than Yuki Osahi's four, though the Japanese summer arrival hasn't added to his account in over a month.

Supporters may be beginning to wonder who can really lead the line this season for Blackburn, and rightly so. Rovers were powerless to prevent the departure of Szmodics, who was last season's top Championship goalscorer with 28 strikes, to Ipswich Town in the summer, but they're reportedly on the look-out for more goals.

Carlton Palmer tells Blackburn Rovers to sign Kwame Poku as potential Sammie Szmodics replacement

According to a recent report by Alan Nixon, Blackburn are plotting a January bid for Peterborough's star winger Poku, who is currently joint-top of League One scoring charts with seven goals to his name and was recently named as the division's Player of the Month for September.

With the loss of goals inflicted by Szmodics' exit in mind, Palmer explained just why Poku would represent impressive business for Blackburn if they prove capable of pulling off the deal.

"Blackburn Rovers are plotting a January transfer move for Peterborough's talented attacker Kwame Poku," Palmer exclusively told Football League World.

"Blackburn started the season in fine fettle under John Eustace with a run of seven games without defeat, although they've struggled as of late with three defeats in their last five games. Although Eustace's men were scoring for fun at the start of the campaign, they've only scored two in their last five.

"They're looking to sign Poku, who's started the season really, really well at Peterborough. He's already scored seven goals this season.

"He bagged 11 goals in 37 appearances for Posh last season. Blackburn could be part of a bidding war to sign him from Peterborough. I think it would be a fantastic bit of business for Eustace, Poku would add goals, assists and an injection of pace to the side.

"He would be a really, really good signing if they were able to get this over the line in January. When you lose somebody like Sammie Szmodics, who was a consistent and reliable source of goals last season, that's what you need to bring back into the club.

"If they can bring in somebody who's affordable like Poku, this could give Eustace's side the push they might need to get into the play-offs this season."

Peterborough United's Kwame Poku may be out of reach for Blackburn Rovers

As impressive as the signing of Poku would be, realism may serve Blackburn well here.

They could benefit from more goals and impetus from wide areas in particular, but successfully executing the deal feels unlikely for myriad reasons. First, they simply lack the financial muscle to land such a capture, you would imagine, especially considering that Posh almost invariably drive a hard bargain for their prized assets.

They're also sure to face stiff competition for the 23-year-old's signature when January comes calling. Around this time last year, TEAMtalk reported that Poku was of interest to the likes of Sunderland, Ipswich and West Bromwich Albion. However, given how much he's improved in the last twelve months, that interest should realistically be expected to grow and form even wider, which would doubtless decrease Blackburn's chances of completing the signing.

Of course, it will be argued that if you don't buy a ticket then you won't win the raffle, and Blackburn should still keep their interest. The worst case scenario would simply be missing out on him and having to look elsewhere, but they must be warned against potentially putting all of their eggs in one rather unlikely basket and supporters should refrain from too much excitement.