Blackburn Rovers suffer transfer setback after £2m striker bid - Swansea City are lurking | OneFootball

Rovers have seen a bid rejected for Sambou Soumano.

Blackburn Rovers have reportedly had a £2m bid for Lorient striker Sambou Soumano rejected, with Swansea City also having him on their transfer radar.

Rovers have endured a challenging start to their 2025/26 season.

Valerien Ismael's side have three points to their name after three games, with two defeats and one win leaving them 16th heading into this weekend's home clash with Norwich City.

Blackburn look keen to bolster their forward line ahead of the 1 September transfer deadline, but they may now have to go back to the drawing board.

Blackburn see £2m Sambou Soumano bid rejected

It was revealed earlier this week by journalist Alan Nixon via Patreon that Blackburn were making a move for Lorient striker, Sambou Soumano.

That report stated that Rovers were watching on as he netted in a 4-0 win over Rennes last weekend, with the 24-year-old forward keen on a move to England.

However, Lorient were said to be demanding around £5m+ for their star striker, who bagged 14 goals in 32 Ligue 2 appearances for them last season, as Olivier Pantaloni's side won promotion to Ligue 1 with a second tier title-winning campaign.

But, in a new update from Nixon on Thursday, it's now been revealed that Blackburn have seen their first approach for Soumano knocked back, which was detailed as being around £2m plus add-ons.

Lorient have also reportedly rejected an offer from Polish outfit Widzew Lodz, before Nixon also names Swansea City as being keen on a move for the Senegalese striker, however the Swans are said to have him down as an 'alternative target'.

Football Insider have also claimed this week that Scottish giants Celtic are also in the running for his signature, and there could be a potential for Swansea and the Greens to somewhat work together in order to see Soumano end up at Celtic Park.

That's because the Jacks are said to be in 'advanced talks' to sign Celtic striker Adam Idah, which in turn could free up funds for the Glaswegians to strike a deal for the Lorient hitman.

Blackburn could use John Buckley and Lewis Travis cash windfalls to fund Soumano deal

If Blackburn wish to sign Soumano, it looks as though they're going to have to find some way of forking out £5m or potentially even more in order to get a deal done.

The player is only contracted with Lorient until next summer however, meaning the French side may well feel inclined to sell now in order to ensure they don't risk losing him for nothing at the end of the season.

But it doesn't appear they're in the mood for handing out a discount deal, but thankfully for Blackburn, they have just come into some money that could be reinvested into striking an agreement for the striker.

Club captain Lewis Travis has just departed for Derby County in a deal that is reported to have earned Rovers over £3m, whilst John Buckley has also just called time on his Ewood Park career, sealing a switch to Saudi Arabian side Al Kholood for a fee in the region of £1m.

Therefore, with at least £4m seemingly banked from those two sales, that should go a very long way to sealing a deal for Soumano should Blackburn act quickly.