Rovers have recruited former Reading forward Dominic Samuel for an undisclosed fee believed to be around £500,000.
The 23 year old becomes the fifth player to permanently join Tony Mowbray’s side following their relegation to League 1 and despite scoring for Reading at Ewood Park last season in a 3-2 win for the Royals, the Southwark-born forward is aiming to start on a clean slate and drive Rovers to an immediate return to the Championship.
Samuel, who worked under Tony Mowbray, whilst the pair were at Coventry City, admitted that the appeal of working under the 53 year old was too strong to pass up; “I worked with the gaffer a few years ago and I bonded with him really well, so I thought it was the right move for me. He was a really big factor (in the move). I played my best football under him, so it was a no brainer to come here. The fact that it is Blackburn Rovers as well, such a big club, I’m really looking forward to it.”
Speaking to the clubs’ official website, Samuel depicted how much the prospect of a move to Ewood Park affected his day-to-day life; “As soon as I knew Blackburn were interested I was restless at home. I just wanted to get the deal done and get going with such a great club.”
Much like his fellow signings, Samuel claimed that promotion was his only goal for the upcoming season; “It is a big club. It is a club that shouldn’t be in League One and hopefully after this year we can bounce back straight into the Championship.
The new recruit will be aware of a familiar face on his first day of training. Bradley Dack, another of Rovers’ new recruits will be accustomed with the former Reading forward as they previously formed a solid attacking partnership whilst Samuel was on loan at the Gills during the 2015-16 seasons, in which the striker notched a solid 7 goals in 25 appearances.
The Rovers fans will be hoping that the new recruit will be able to continue his fruitful partnerships with both Dack & Mowbray, and forge a new one with Danny Graham in the hope of propelling their team back to where they believe they should be, come May 2018.
