Blackburn Rovers, Preston North End, Birmingham City and Wigan Athletic are all in the race to sign Sunderland striker Danny Graham. The Lancashire Telegraph understands that Graham doesn’t have a preferred choice at this moment in time and is keeping an open mind regarding his future.
The ex-Middlesbrough forward is out of contract at the Stadium of Light and looks highly likely to leave once his contract expires on July 1st. Celtic, now managed by former Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers, are also understood to be monitoring his progress.
The 30-year-old worked under Rodgers during their time together at Swansea City, and Rodgers believes Graham would be a big hit in Scottish football. However, Graham previously hinted at his fondness for Blackburn, where he ended last season on loan. He appreciated the fact they offered him first-team football. Speaking before Paul Lambert announced he would be stepping down, he said he would be open to a permanent transfer,
“Would I like to stay? Then yes. But it’s out of my hands at the moment.
“Blackburn took a chance on me when I wasn’t playing a lot up at Sunderland and a lot of people questioned my fitness.
“I had a tough few years with not scoring many goals and that might have put people off.
“But as soon as I walked in the door the gaffer (Lambert) said he knew what I was about and he knew I could score goals.”
Rovers were paying a large chunk of his £35,000 weekly wage during that loan spell, and paying a similar amount next season on a permanent contract could be a big ask for the Championship club. The same could be said of Preston, Birmingham and newly-promoted Wigan, so perhaps Celtic are the front-runners to sign the striker at this moment in time.
