Rovers In For £3.5m Ace Davis

Apr 6 2008 By Gavin Berry

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BLACKBURN are lining up a £3.5million summer swoop for Rangers loan star Steve Davis.

The Premiership side are looking to replace ex-Ibrox midfielder Tugay who is set to retire at the end of the season and Davis is their top target.

Gers boss Walter Smith now faces a fight to make the Northern Ireland international's switch from Fulham permanent.

Smith landed Davis on a six-month loan in January and the 23-year-old has played a major role in the club's push for success at home and abroad.

Davis was part of Gers' first trophy win for three years when they lifted the CIS Cup and was man of the match in last week's Old Firm victory.

Other standout performances like his role in the UEFA Cup victory against Werder Bremen have had Ibrox fans clamouring for a permanent deal.

And with Fulham looking destined for relegation the Ballymena-born star will be keen to leave them.

He fell out of the first-team picture at Craven Cottage when Roy Hodgson replaced his former national boss Lawrie Sanchez and is now loving life with his boyhood heroes.

That has paved the way for a summer exit but with Rovers in the hunt Rangers will face a battle for the player who cost Fulham £4mwhen he left Aston Villa in 2007.