Santa Cruz eyes Blackburn move

Roque Santa Cruz hopes to secure a permanent move to Blackburn this summer and end his frustrating time as a Manchester City player.

The 29-year-old was a £17.5million signing for City from Rovers in the summer of 2009 but a combination of injury and poor form has limited him to just six league starts and three goals at Eastlands. The Paraguayan was loaned back to the Ewood Park club in January and is keen to sign on a permanent basis once the season is over.

He said: "The loan ends this summer and I need to see how it goes, but once I finish here I will need to go back to City. Everyone knows that I am very happy at Blackburn, I have a lot of friends. I have enjoyed my time here so it would be a great thing for me if I could stay, but it is up to the club and City so we need to see what will happen."

He added: "As a player you expect and want to play and of course when you come to my age you want to enjoy the last bit of football that you have left.

"I don't want to spend the rest of my career not playing. So that is the main consideration for me."

Should Santa Cruz end up back with Roberto Mancini at City he will be at the bottom of a long list of striking options, with Emmanuel Adebayor, Craig Bellamy and Felipe Caicedo all also out on loan and likely to be sold in the coming months.