Blackburn Rovers make move for Yuki Ohashi as potential Sammie Szmodics replacement | OneFootball

The Ewood Park club have made their move for the 27-year-old as they look to replace their talisman

Blackburn Rovers are moving to sign Sanfrecce Hiroshima striker Yuki Ohashi as a potential replacement for Sammie Szmodics.

That's according to a report from journalist Alan Nixon, who says that the Ewood Park club are in talks with the Japanese side about signing the 27-year-old.

Szmodics enjoyed an excellent campaign with Rovers last season, scoring 27 league goals to win the Championship Golden Boot.

That though, has attracted plenty of attention from elsewhere, with the likes of Ipswich Town and Leeds United both linked with moves for the Republic of Ireland international.

Now however, it seems as though Blackburn may have their replacement for Szmodics already lined up, in case the attacker does indeed move on.

Yuki Ohashi in line for Ewood Park move

As per this latest update, Rovers have already made contact with Hiroshima over a deal for the signing of Ohashi.

It is thought that the Championship club are therefore now looking into a work permit for the striker, although the suggestion is that will not be an issue.

Ohashi still has two-and-a-half years remaining on his contract in Japan, meaning Hiroshima do have scope to respond to interest in the 27-year-old.

Even so, this report claims that the fee Blackburn pay for the striker, will be much less than the £1million that has been suggested in Japan.

Having only joined Hiroshima from fellow Japanese top-flight side Shonan Bellmare in January, Ohashi has so far scored 16 goals in 27 appearances in all competitions for his current club.

Hiroshima currently sit fifth in the J1 League, having taken 40 points from 24 games so far this season.

Blackburn of course, finished last season 19th in the Championship table, three points clear of the relegation zone.

They needed a final day win over Leicester to ensure they avoided relegation to League One for this season.

So far this summer, Blackburn are the only Championship club who are yet to make a signing in the transfer window.

Striker would be a useful signing for Blackburn Rovers

It does feel as though the addition of Ohashi would be a more than welcome one at Ewood Park.

With the interest that is now emerging in him, it does seem as though it will be hard for Rovers to retain the services of Szmodics this summer.

Given how vital his goals were to keeping them in the Championship last season, they will obviously need to be replaced if he is to move on.

Ohashi's record is encouraging in that sense, given the impressive return he has produced since his move to Hiroshima earlier this year.

The fact he has the versatility to operate in a range of attacking roles could also be useful for Blackburn, given they do not have a huge amount of attacking depth right now.

After such a frustrating summer in the window with a lack of spending or activity, the fact the club are moving quickly, and investing in a replacement for a key player, is at least somewhat promising.

With that in mind, the signing of Ohashi could certainly be a welcome one for Blackburn, especially if Szmodics is to move on this summer.