Blackburn Rovers manager Tony Mowbray insists he would not deny reported West Ham United and Everton target Adam Armstrong a summer move to the Premier League, as he told the Lancashire Telegraph.
If you want to sign one of the top players in the Championship, you had better dust off your cheque book and prepare to scribble down a fair few zeroes.
In an era in which Neal Maupay, Ollie Watkins, Adam Webster and Said Benrahma have moved clubs for £20 million-plus, Blackburn were never going to let Armstrong go on the cheap – even if the striker is out of contract in 2022.
The Sun reports that West Ham were stunned after learning that the former Newcastle youngster would cost £25 million in the upcoming transfer window.
Everton and Fulham are also big admirers of a diminutive poacher who, with 19 goals in 31 games, is sitting second in the Golden Boot race (Sun).
Yet while Blackburn are standing firm on their valuation of the Tyneside-born 24-year-old, that does not mean the shutters are down.
“Of course, if the Premier League comes calling I would never try and deny a player the chance to go and play in the Premier League as long as the club is recompensed correctly for the value we thought and what we could reinvest,” Mowbray explained.
“That’s a potential scenario. The other scenario is that he stays, signs a new deal and scores loads and loads of goals and helps us get to the Premier League.”
With five defeats and a draw in their last six Championship fixtures, Mowbray’s ‘other scenario’ feels distinctly unlikely.
According to LancsLive, West Ham boss David Moyes has held talks with his Blackburn counterpart regarding a deal that would see Armstrong join another second-tier graduate – Jarrod Bowen – at the London Stadium.
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