Nikola Kalinic exploits will continue to raise Blackburn Rovers eyebrows: View | OneFootball

Despite never fully firing for Blackburn, one striker still played for some big clubs after leaving Ewood Park

As has often been the case in recent times, Blackburn Rovers found themselves needing to sign some reinforcements in attack during the 2009 summer transfer window.

That summer saw the Ewood Park club lose two first-team strikers, with Roque Santa Cruz joining Manchester City and Matt Derbyshire heading to Olympiacos.

Those sales did at least give Rovers money to spend when bringing in some extra firepower for their attack, which they certainly used.

On the 13th August 2009, Blackburn completed the signing of Nikola Kalinic with the striker joining from Hajduk Split in his native Croatia.

It was reported that the Ewood Park club paid a fee of £6million to sign the striker, although it was a deal that never really seemed to pay off for the Lancashire outfit.

Nikola Kalinic struggled for Blackburn in the Premier League

Having completed his move to Rovers, Kalinic endured a difficult debut campaign for the club, as they found themselves looking nervously over their shoulder at the Premier League relegation zone.

His first goal for the club eventually came in late October 2009, scoring a penalty in a 5-2 win over Peterborough United in the League Cup.

Indeed, the cups did provide some success for Kalinic, he scored five goals in seven appearances in the FA Cup and League Cup during his first season with Blackburn.

In the Premier League though, it was a different story, with the Croatian missing a number of chances to open his account in the top-flight.

That included a late one-on-one in a goalless draw with Liverpool in early December that was dragged agonisingly wide.

Eventually, Kalinic would end his wait for a goal in the Premier League, heading home the winner in a 2-1 victory over Wigan Athletic in late January 2010.

However, that would not open the floodgates for the striker, who scored just once more in the league that season, opening the scoring in a 3-0 win over Bolton Wanderers a month later.

The 2010/11 season did at least begin well for Kalinic, who scored twice in Blackburn's first four league games at the beginning of the campaign.

He was though, unable to maintain that form, finding the net just three more times in the league all season, with Rovers only avoiding relegation on the final day of the campaign.

That summer then brought an end to Kalinic's time with Blackburn, as he was sold to Ukrainian side FC Dnipro.

The Croatian left Ewood Park with a record of seven goals in 44 Premier League appearances, meaning what came next for the striker will have been something of a surprise to Rovers fans.

Nikola Kalinic played for some big clubs after leaving Ewood Park

After departing Rovers with a far from prolific scoring record in the Premier League, Kalinic did rediscover his touch somewhat in Ukraine.

Kalinic scored 49 times in 125 outings for Dnipro over the next four years, which would then earn him another shot at one of Europe's top leagues.

In the summer of 2015, the striker moved to Serie A side Fiorentina, where despite his past struggles with Blackburn, he would thrive in the Italian top-flight.

Kalinic scored 27 times in 69 league games for Fiorentina over the next two seasons, which then earned him a loan move to one of Italy's top clubs, in the form of AC Milan, for the 2017/18 season.

While a return of six goals in 41 games was not enough to earn him a permanent move to San Siro, it did get Kalinic a move to one of Spain's own biggest clubs, as he signed for Atletico Madrid.

The striker put pen to paper on a three-year deal with the La Liga giants in the summer of 2018, just after they had finished second in the Spanish top-flight.

However, a tough debut season in Spain, with just four goals in 24 games, saw him loaned back to

Italy in 2019, although again, the Croatian secured a move to a big name in European football.

This time it was Roma he signed for, again allowing him to compete at the top end of one of the big European leagues, as they finished fifth that season.

A permanent move to another Italian side, Hellas Verona followed, before Kalinic brought his playing career to an end by returning to Hajduk Split, the club Blackburn had first signed him from.

Before that though, the striker had managed to accumulate an impressive CV in terms of the calibre of clubs he had turned out for across Italy and Spain.

Given how things had gone for him during his time at Ewood Park before those stints, that is something that will no doubt raise eyebrows among Blackburn