Blackburn have signed former striker Roque Santa Cruz from Manchester City on loan until the end of the season.
Santa Cruz left Rovers for Manchester City in 2009 after two seasons at Ewood Park.
The Paraguayan striker scored 29 goals in 70 games for Blackburn with City signing him for a fee of £17.5million. However, Santa Cruz has been unable to establish himself in City’s starting XI due to a combination of injuries and competition for places.
Santa Cruz becomes Steve Kean’s first signing at Blackburn and the Rovers boss has revealed he hopes to make the deal permanent if he impresses during his loan spell.
“Roque had a fantastic time when he was first here and he showed his quality,” said Kean. “Hopefully he’ll do that again until the end of the season.
“It’s massive from his point of view because he doesn’t have to settle in at a new club. He’s coming back to a place that was special to him and I’m sure he’s going to deliver just as good or even better.
“We’re trying to speak to Manchester City at the moment regarding an option about signing Roque at the end of the season, so we don’t know about that yet.
“It’s something we’ll ask for, but we don’t know if they’ll commit to it.”
Santa Cruz admitted it was an easy decision to return to Blackburn admitting it felt like ‘coming home’.
“I feel like I am coming home. This has been the easiest decision of my career,” Santa Cruz told the club’s official website
“I want to get playing and scoring goals again and this is a real chance for me to prove myself after a frustrating period. Everyone knows what Blackburn Rovers means to me.”
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