A few weeks ago, I reported on a tidbit from The Guardian about Roque Santa Cruz being unhappy about Blackburn’s struggles and wanting to move to Manchester City to reunite with Mark Hughes.
Now it appears that Santa Cruz is going to do what he must to get what he wants, as the Paraguayan striker is reportedly going to hand in a transfer request.
I’m not really sure how viable this report is right now, given that Santa Cruz has some other more important matters to deal with, but if it is, it’ll be news to Hughes’ ears, as City are in need of more firepower up front. It’ll be the opposite for Paul Ince, who already has a lot on his plate, what with the club in the relegation zone and having to bat away the resulting criticism and sack talk.
As much as Ince would no doubt like to hold on to a player who’s contractually committed to the club until 2012, it does no good to have an unhappy player or an extra distraction on a side that’s already bogged down in the mire. Unless Blackburn start winning, Santa Cruz won’t be happy, and even if they do, he may not be.
With the fee that Blackburn could net from the sale of Santa Cruz, they could get a new striker (or two), a playmaker to help provide him with chances and at least partly fill the hole left by David Bentley, and perhaps a defensive reinforcement as well.
The January window will be a pivotal time for Blackburn in regards to their hopes of staying up, and Ince, if he’s still around then, will have a big decision to make on whether Santa Cruz stays to fight or he’s sold for the sake of survival.
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