Blackburn Rovers should try beat Burnley to ex-Southampton FC man, here's why | OneFootball

Blackburn Rovers could explore a deal for Stuart Armstrong after falling behind in the race for Jeffrey Schlupp

A 2-0 home defeat against Coventry City on Tuesday enforced the need for the Blackburn Rovers hierarchy to move in double-quick time to bring in reinforcements.

Despite winning just one of their last eight league games, Blackburn remain in the thick of the play-off race, but if they can't correct their form in the not-too-distant future, then they risk being dropped from the race.

Injuries certainly haven't helped John Eustce's side, who are currently without a raft of first team players, but so far they've done little in the transfer market to try and rectify that situation.

Money is certainly tight at Ewood Park despite recently bringing in big money for the sales of Adam Wharton and Sammie Szmodics, so this window looks to be limited to loans and free transfers for Eustace, which is in stark contrast to a lot of their rivals.

It's widely acknowledged that the January window can make or break a season, and unless Rovers can pull some rabbits out of the hat in the closing stages, then it could well break their campaign.

According to Alan Nixon, Coventry City have stolen a march in the race to sign Jeffrey Schlupp, a Blackburn target, which forces Rovers' hand to dip back into the market to find an alternative.

Schlupp would've been a handy signing at this level for Blackburn, bringing some much-needed pace and dynamism to a squad void of creativity at times, so news that Coventry now lead the race is sure to weigh heavily.

Finding a replacement won't be easy, but if they look a few miles down the M65, their rivals may well have identified a target for them in Stuart Armstrong, who was linked with a move to Burnley at the weekend by Nixon.

Armstrong currently plies his trade for Vancouver Whitecaps but could be open to a return to England, particularly with the MLS currently in the off-season, and he has a similar profile to Schlupp.

The Scottish international was part of Southampton's promotion winning side last summer, and although he sat out the latter stages of the season, his experience in the Rovers dressing room could prove priceless.

Stuart Armstrong is a similar profile player to Jeffrey Schlupp

There are plenty of similarities to be found between Schlupp and Armstrong - they're both ex-Premier League players, both above 30, both play a number of positions and have both drifted inside as their careers have gone on

If Burnley's interest in Armstrong is genuine, then beating the Clarets to his signature may be difficult for Rovers, particularly if he thinks he could get a better shot at playing Premier League football with them.

The main selling point Blackburn have though is that they can offer him much more football. He'd be a regular at Ewood Park, whereas at Turf Moor he'd likely be more of a rotation player, and at his age, that may not be something that suits him.

This current injury crisis has exposed a number of holes in Blackburn's team, and there's no doubting that if they were to make a play for Armstrong, he would instantly come in and improve their side.

Despite being 32, Armstrong still has the engine to get around the pitch which suits his midfield role, and he has the quality to even still play in the wide areas if need be, and that could be key for Rovers in the run in.