Blackburn Rovers have missed out on one of their striker targets following the move of Theo Bair to France.
Previous reports from HITC had linked the Motherwell striker to the Ewood Park club as they look to add more goalscorers to their side amidst the interest around Sammie Szmodics. The Irish midfielder claimed the Championship Golden Boot in a season where Rovers narrowly avoided the drop in the final stages of the season.
Other second-division clubs, including Sunderland and Cardiff City were all reportedly interested in the 24-year-old alongside German side FC St. Pauli, but it was Ligue 1 newcomers AJ Auxerre that ultimately secured the signing of Bair, with Sky Sports stating that the deal is in excess of £1.4 million.
The Canadian has joined the Burgundy club for the next four seasons and will take on the number nine shirt for the side that claimed the Ligue 2 title last season by six points. He becomes the second player to move from Britain to the club this window following the move of Gabriel Osho from Luton Town.
Bair scored 15 times across 41 appearances during his time at Motherwell following a move from St Johnstone last summer. His performances saw him finish sixth in the goalscoring charts in Scotland and earned a call-up to the Canadian national team that played in this year’s Copa America and made it to the semi-finals.
Blackburn have looked at other strikers since the transfer window opened, with Football Insider also reporting that Exeter City‘s Millenic Alli has been a target for John Eustace’s squad. Rovers have already made a sale in their forward department with Semir Telaovic moving to Ulm on a three-year deal.
Between the three senior strikers of Sam Gallagher, Tyrhys Dolan and Harry Leonard, they scored a combined 11 goals in the Championship last season, well behind Szmodics’ total of 27 in the competition. The Irish international scored 45% of all of Blackburn’s goals in the league, with his total contribution reaching 52% when combining his four assists.
Writer’s View
Blackburn Rovers are desperately in need of a consistent goalscorer and losing out on Theo Bair might be a blow for that aim. Whilst an unproven asset in EFL football, he was prominent in a Motherwell side that fell short of what they could achieve, which showed with all the interest put in him this summer. Auxerre have ultimately won, but there will be plenty of other targets for the losing teams to pick up.
The ceiling of Millenic Alli does make him an exciting choice should Blackburn make a move for the former Halifax forward but it would seem that the player that John Eustace will ultimately sign has yet to emerge. Perhaps there is some hope that the current crop of strikers will deliver something more than they offered up last season, but should Sammie Szmodics finally move on there will need to be plenty of improvements in front of goal.
