Blackburn Rovers close to sealing transfer agreement for Swedish midfielder | OneFootball

Blackburn Rovers are close to signing the 6'2" midfielder Axel Henriksson from the Swedish club GAIS, according to reports in the Swedish press.

Blackburn Rovers are close to completing the signing of midfielder Axel Henriksson from Swedish club GAIS, according to media reports from Sweden.

With less than a week to go before the start of the new EFL Championship season, Blackburn Rovers are still tweaking their playing personnel. Four new players have already arrived at Ewood Park this summer as the club seek to build on their impressive 7th-placed finish in the Championship last season.

Rovers have already lost a couple of high-profile players this summer, including Tyrhys Dolan to the Spanish club Espanyol, as well as both Andreas Weimann and Danny Batth to Derby County.

Blackburn close to completing the signing of Axel Henriksson

The Swedish news outlet Sportbladet reports that Blackburn are close to completing the signing of the 23-year-old midfielder Axel Henriksson, who currently plays for the Allsvenskan club GAIS.

He is reported to have been left out of their squad for their 2-2 draw against bottom of the table IFK Varnamo on Saturday, and that he is currently undergoing a medical with a view to the signing being tied up ahead of the start of Blackburn's Championship season.

No mention is made of a transfer fee, but if it is a permanent signature rather than a loan one will be payable, as the player still has a year and a half to run on his contract with GAIS. The club are currently in 5th place in the table, one point short of European qualification for next season with twelve games left to play.

Henriksson has impressed in Sweden and could be a good fit for Blackburn

Axel Henriksson signed for GAIS, who are based in Gothenburg, in 2022. Since then, he has made 55 appearances for them in the league.

Henriksson has been one of the key players in his club's rise to the Swedish top-flight since he arrived at the club. GAIS were promoted in two successive seasons to reach the Allsvenskan in 2022 and 2023, and his team completed their first season at their new, higher level by finishing 6th in the 16-team division.

Blackburn have a history of signing players from Sweden. Ten have previously played for the club, including extremely familiar names such as strikers Martin Dahlin and Niklas Dudmundsson, and defender Martin Olsson.

Rovers had already shown interest in the Swedish league this summer with their attempts to sign the defender Colin Rosler from Malmo, but no transfer went ahead. It had been reported by the Lancashire Telegraph that "another two to three additions are being targeted before their summer business ends, barring injuries or departures."

But there may yet also be transfer activity in the opposite direction, with reports that defender Callum Brittain is close to agreeing terms with Middlesbrough. Blackburn could be set for a busy last week before the new season begins.