Blackburn Rovers Football Club News

• Nickname:Rovers
• Founded:1875
• Manager:Steve Kean

• Ground:Ewood Park
• Capacity:31,367

Santa Cruz signs for Rovers

28 Jul 2007 - 14:15:48

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Blackburn Rovers have completed the signing of Bayern Munich's Paraguay international striker Roque Santa Cruz on a four-year contract.

The 25-year-old moves to Ewood Park for an undisclosed fee, having also been a target for Manchester City after being told he could leave Bayern.

Santa Cruz had been with the German giants for nearly eight years, while he has scored 16 goals in 46 outings for Paraguay, including a hat-trick against Colombia in the recent Copa America.

Rovers boss Mark Hughes said of his new signing: "What we didn't have was a real threat in the air and that was something we were looking to address.

"Santa Cruz is a young player, an international with a good reputation who is playing at a top European club.

"The good thing from our point of view is that his fitness levels are fine as he has been playing in the Copa America."

Santa Cruz will challenge Benni McCarthy, Jason Roberts, Matt Derbyshire and recent recruit Maceo Rigters for a starting spot for Rovers this season.