Kalinic up for Rovers fight

Nikola Kalinic is relishing the chance to play for Blackburn Rovers, but concedes he will need time to adapt to Premier League football. Croatia striker Kalinic has been granted a work permit to complete his move to Blackburn from Hajduk Split for a fee in the region of £6million. Portsmouth had also been keen to sign the 21-year-old, who is now eager to make his mark at Ewood Park for his new club. "I didn't play for two months and I need some time to get in good shape," Kalinic told Slobodna Dalmacija. "English football is much tougher than Croatian and it is not easy to adapt to this, but I'm getting better and better every day." Kalinic has already struck up a rapport with fellow new boy Franco Di Santo and accepts he faces a fight to secure a place in Sam Allardyce's side. He added: "Everybody in Blackburn greeted me with a warm welcome, but the player with whom I spend most of my time is Franco Di Santo. "We are both newcomers in this club and it is logical that we are very close. "We both know that Blackburn has many great players, so it won't be easy to get in the team, but we both have time. "Time is certainly on my side. I am not scared of anybody, I just have to get in my best shape and then I will be ready to fight with everybody."

Source: SKY_Sports