Blackburn Rovers Keen On Reading's Dominic Samuel

Reading may well be left with just two senior strikers on their books by the end of the week, with Dominic Samuel set to join Blackburn Rovers.

Alan Nixon (@reluctantnicko) on Twitter has claimed that the 23-year-old will move to Ewood Park for around £500,000, which seems a relatively fair price considering Samuel only has one year left on his current deal in Berkshire.

The striker made his senior Reading debut way back in December 2012, coming on as a substitute in a Premier League clash with Sunderland at the age of 18. However he has never been able to force himself into the starting XI permanently since, and found most of his playing time out on loan.

Spells at Colchester United, Dagenham & Redbridge, Coventry City and Gillingham set him up for his first real run in the first team last season, and he made nine Championship appearances between September and December, scoring twice. Despite this, he was shipped out on loan again in January, moving to Ipswich until the end of the campaign.

Samuel failed to score in six games for the Tractor Boys, but it was reported last week that Mick McCarthy was keen to sign him permanently, with Barnsley also allegedly interested in getting the striker's signature. Yet it seems that Blackburn is now Samuel's likely destination, with the Lancashire Telegraph yesterday providing even more substance to the rumour by claiming that the club were close to finalising a deal for a striker before their pre-season tour of Austria.

Tony Mowbray's side were relegated to League One on the final day of last season, but have already made some impressive moves in the transfer market as they look for an immediate return to the Championship - Peter Whittingham and Bradley Dack making the switch to Ewood Park in the first few weeks of the window.