Blackburn Rovers boss Tony Mowbray has confirmed to the media in Lancashire that he is interested in taking Michael Obafemi to Ewood Park from Southampton, but it won't form part of the deal taking Adam Armstrong to St Mary's.

With the news coming through that Adam Armstrong is in talks with Saints and about to have a medical, his soon to be former manager at Blackburn has been speaking to the media about whom he wants to replace him.

The man in question is Saints youngster Michael Obafemi who looked to have a bright future at St Mary's 3 years ago when he burst on to the scene, but has failed to truly live up to his potential and with the potential arrival of Armstrong to St Mary's as well as talk of Armando Broja also arriving on the South Coast on a season long loan, the Irish International is about to slip down the pecking order.

But Mowbray seems to suggest that Obafemi is not happy to drop down to the Championship.

“It’s something that’s been mooted, those sort of things become personal to the point the boy wants to make that move, his advisors have to see it as an opportunity,” Mowbray said.

“If it’s one he sees as a good chance for him to play more regular football at a level he sees himself doing similar things to Adam and build his reputation.

“It’s something we’re exploring but I won’t sit here and say that anything is happening, we will see in the next couple of days if anything materialises.”

Mowbray has confirmed that a move which will see Armstrong move to St Mary’s would be separate to any discussions involving Obafemi.

He added: “I have watched him for the last three months.

“I was aware of him making his debut, he made quite a bit of noise a couple of years ago.

“I have studied him a lot recently and I see similarities with Adam, he’s mobile, fast, can score, he’s a young boy but we use attributes to help the team play in a certain way.

“He has the attributes that will help our team but it’s not something we should be saying is a done deal as I’ve not personally spoken to the player so let’s see what the next few days bring.”

From a Saints perspective they would seemingly be happy to let Obafemi move on, the whispers out of St Mary's where that the striker had been influenced by older players in the squad that have now departed and had taken his eye off the ball both in terms of his attitude towards training and off the field activities..

In fairness he seemed to knuckle down and get his career back on track, but something has been missing and he perhaps needs a fresh start to get back to realising his undoubted potential.

Saints would be looking to get somewhere around the fee they received from Blackburn last summer when the Lancashire club paid just short of £6 million for Sam Gallagher, although Gallagher had a lot more experience than Obafemi in the Championship, his career at St Mary's never took off and Obafemi was considered a better option as back up a year ago by Saints.

Photo: Action Images

Colburn added 15:16 - Aug 9 To be fair, Obafemi has never had a run in the side. Last season injury kept him out and since he has come back, he's looked strong, hungry and quick. He makes things happen and even if not a starter, a perfect player to bring off the bench. He's still very young and I personally think it will be a mistake to let him go without seeing how he performs since his problems. What he has is rare and we should be nurturing it, not selling him on.

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aspensaint added 15:17 - Aug 9 Would be good business by Saints. Armstrong is about as good as we can afford and 6mill for Michael makes it an even better deal. It’s our dodgy defence we need to sort out ASAP.
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Block8 added 16:07 - Aug 9 Personally I'd like to see him go on loan, rather than permanently. As Coburn has said he's not had a run and a loan may just be what he needs. I have never been convinced by his performances but continuity is a big factor in measuring performance, so a good run at Blackburn might showcase his talent!
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Billeewithers added 16:09 - Aug 9 Looks like Saints are clearing players with potential attitude deficits. The club can’t afford to carry any players especially after the last few years of seriously underperforming “stars”! Hard work, commitment and results is needed and slack players don’t fit that bill.
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RedandWight added 16:11 - Aug 9 I think Obafemi has the odd goal or two in him but that's just not enough at this level, I agree with those that say it would be better for him and the club if he re-started his career and the championship would seem like a good place to do that. I've watched him for the last season and his improvement over the season was negligible. Michael, best of luck go to Rovers and kick on from there.

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Peterx added 16:53 - Aug 9 With a year on his deal we need to either offer him a longer contract and loan him out for a year or sell him. Personally I think he can come good but it would be a gamble. Probably better to cash in.
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highfield49 added 17:18 - Aug 9 If the suggestion that Obafemi doesn't want to drop down to the Championship is true then in my view he needs a reality check. That's not to say that Burnley, Palace, Norwich and others wouldn't sign him for a few £m but there's no indication that any team at the top level is interested. Maybe Blackburn isn't where he sees himself playing but he's in danger of letting his career fade to nothing if he doesn't move on. Tony Mowbray is not everyone's cup of tea as a manager but I suspect he might tell Obafemi a few home truths about where and how far he should stick his ego.

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SanMarco added 18:09 - Aug 9 It is true he has never had much of a run but my feeling is that we should cash in. When you are on the fringes you have to force the manager to take notice of you - that hasn't happened. Too much of a gamble to give him a JS style mega contract.
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