Blackburn Rovers keen on Michael Obafemi

A serious leg muscle injury suffered midway through last season, which restricted his appearances at Southampton to five over the season, pushed him down Stephen Kenny’s pecking order but a prospective move to Blackburn could get his club career back on track.

Michael Obafemi 

Tony Mowbray says Michael Obafemi could emulate Adam Armstrong’s revival in the Championship if he lures the Southampton striker to Blackburn Rovers in the coming days.

Armstrong is on his way to the Premier League after the clubs agreed an €18m fee on Monday morning while Ireland international striker Obafemi appears to be heading the opposite direction as a standalone deal.

Dublin-born Obafemi has been capped once at senior debut, as an 18-year-old in Martin O’Neill’s final game in charge against Denmark in November 2018, but hasn’t figured under Stephen Kenny, only expanding to U21 cap haul to six during 2020.

A serious leg muscle injury suffered midway through last season, which restricted his appearances at Southampton to five over the season, pushed him down Kenny’s pecking order but a prospective move to Blackburn could get his club career back on track.

Blackburn would need to shell out around €5m for the forward, whose contract expires at the end of the season.

“It’s something that’s been mooted,” said Blackburn boss Mowbray of 21-year-old Obafemi, whose highlight at Southampton was equalising at Old Trafford 12 months to earn a 2-2 draw against Manchester United.

“It’s a sort of thing that becomes personal to the point that if the boy wants to make that move, his advisors have to see it as an opportunity.

“It’s something we’re exploring but I won’t sit here and say that anything is happening, we will see in the next couple of days if anything materialises.” Mowbray has compared Obafemi to Armstrong, who used Rovers as a springboard after he struggled to break in at his boyhood club Newcastle United.

He added: “I have watched him (Obafemi) for the last three months.

“I was aware of him making his debut, he made quite a bit of noise a couple of years ago. I have studied him a lot recently and I see similarities with Adam, he’s mobile, fast, can score, he’s a young boy but we use attributes to help the team play in a certain way. If it’s one he sees as a good chance for him to play more regular football at a level he sees himself doing similar things to Adam and build his reputation. He has the attributes that will help our team but it’s not something we should be saying is a done deal as I’ve not personally spoken to the player so let’s see what the next few days bring.”