Blackburn Rovers 'nearing Shane Duffy capture'

Blackburn Rovers are on the verge of completing the capture of Republic of Ireland international Shane Duffy from Everton, reports suggest.

The 22-year-old defender, who had a loan spell at Blackburn's Lancashire rivals Burnley earlier in his career, would become the first permanent addition to the Rovers squad this summer.

According to the Lancashire Telegraph, the Ewood Park outfit are willing to pay up to £1.5m for the 6'4" centre-back, though the initial fee could be less than a quarter of that.

Whatever the fee, Rovers owners Venky's are believed to have given boss Gary Bowyer the funds to bolster his small squad.

Since the end of the 2013-14 season, Bowyer has been restricted to two free transfers in strikers Chris Brown and Luke Varney, as well as one season-long loan for defender Alex Baptiste.