Samba: I want out of Rovers

CHRISTOPHER SAMBA looks set for the exit door at Blackburn after he declared yesterday he wants to leave in the current transfer window.

Speculation about Samba’s future has increased in the past few days after he was last week quoted in French sports newspaper L’Equipe saying that his club, who have been struggling near the bottom of the Premier League all season, “doesn’t evolve at all”, that “things have not gone as I was told” and that he felt it was “time for a change”.

The defender has been linked with Tottenham, QPR and Paris St Germain, and Rovers manager Steve Kean revealed on Thursday that two bids for the player — believed to be from QPR — had been turned down.

The Scot also stressed Samba was not for sale, but the 27-year-old club captain yesterday handed in a transfer request, making clear his desire to quit Ewood Park as soon as possible.

Samba said: “I have officially requested a transfer from Blackburn Rovers FC.

“I have decided now is the right time for me to pursue a new challenge and I have asked the club to respect my decision and allow me leave.”

On Saturday Blackburn moved off the foot of the table and out of the relegation zone with a 3-1 victory at home against Fulham, a game which was preceded by an organised protest by a section of Rovers fans against the club’s owners, Venky’s.

Samba did not feature in the squad for the match, although Kean claimed it was because the France-born Congolese centre-back had complained of severe stomach cramps.

He then expressed his hope his skipper would be available for next weekend’s trip to Everton, but it now appears Samba is headed for the exit.

Samba joined Blackburn — then managed by Mark Hughes — in 2007, and last February signed a deal to keep him at Rovers until 2015. Ahead of the Fulham game, Kean said it was a deal he wanted Samba to “respect”.