Venky's to spend only 5m pound to buy new players

Published>Wed, Oct 27 10 08:22 PM

Blackburn Rovers fans hoping to see their team splash money on new players in next year's transfer window are likely to be disappointed as the Indian company set to buy it is expected to spend only five million pounds for the purpose.

Indian poultry giant Venky's has agreed to pay 46 million pounds for the English Premier League club but company chairperson Anuradha J Desai said that lavish spending is not on the agenda.

Unlike big spending clubs owned by wealthy foreigners like Manchester City and Chelsea, Blackburn is likely to depend upon loan signings to strengthen a side that is just above the relegation zone at 17th.

"We won't need to buy expensive players, we can always lease them. We don't expect to be in the top five of the Premier League. We will be happy to be in the top 10 to 12," Desai was quoted as saying in newspaper reports.

That means Blackburn is unlikely to break its nine-year-old transfer record any time soon. Blackburn paid Manchester United eight million pounds for striker Andy Cole in December 2001, but has since spent more than 5 million pounds on a player only twice.

Desai said Venky's, the flagship firm of Venkateshwara Hatcheries Group, was buying Rovers to raise its international profile.

"Football is a global craze and as the VH Group globalizes, setting up feed plants and hatcheries around the world, we believe we can benefit from being owners of a major football club. It will help build our brand," she said.

Venky's managing director B Venkatesh Rao said the completion of the takeover would be announced within 10 days. The poultry farming and pharmaceuticals firm would be the first Indian company to own a Premier League team if the deal materialises.

Manchester United, Aston Villa, Sunderland and Liverpool are owned by Americans, while Chelsea, Manchester City, Birmingham and Fulham also have non-British owners.

Rovers are the only side outside of the big four of Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool to have won the EPL title in 1995. Since then the club has been largely mediocre and was put up for sale two years ago by the Jack Walker Trust.

Source: Web Search