GARY Bowyer thinks Blackburn Rovers are facing competition from other clubs in their attempts to tie Josh King down to a new deal.

King is out of contract this summer and Rovers opened talks with the Norwegian some time ago over a deal to keep him at Ewood Park.

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Bowyer says progress has been made during negotiations between King and Rovers, but is realistic to admit that other clubs may also be trying to snap up the 23-year-old.

King, who is nearing a return from a hamstring injury after a recent setback but will not feature at Birmingham City tonight, was linked with QPR in January and scored an FA Cup hat-trick against Premier League side Stoke City weeks later.

Bowyer said: “I think there are bound to be other clubs involved.

“He’s a quality player and he’s someone we want to keep here.

“You’ve seen especially in the cup the level of performances he’s produced, so there are bound to be other clubs interested, we’re not naive on that.

“It’s ongoing a bit, but I think from conversations with his representative that progress has been made with the club.

“In the meantime Kingy is just concentrating on getting fit and getting back playing. Hopefully he’ll be close to featuring before the end of the season.

“He was out on the grass yesterday, he didn’t join in with us but we certainly hope that by the end of the week he could be joining in with us.”

Rovers would be due some compensation if King joined another English club because he is under the age of 24, but they will hope that the forward instead remains at Ewood.

The club are also in talks with Matt Kilgallon over a new contract, with a positive conclusion expected soon.

Markus Olsson penned an extended deal in January after his regular status in the starting line-up this season triggered a clause in his previous contract.

Chris Taylor, Lee Williamson, David Dunn, Paul Robinson, Luke Varney and Yann Songo’o are also out of contract, although only Taylor and Williamson have featured regularly this season.

Bowyer says he has now decided which of his squad he will be retaining this summer, although asked whether every player had been informed, he said: “No. There are one or two that are in contract negotiations, and there are one or two who have triggered clauses like Markus Olsson this season for example.

“These days they seem to be part and parcel of players’ contracts, if they play so many games it triggers the clause for another year.

“Contract negotiations depend on the individual, some can be done very quickly, Markus Olsson was done very quickly at the end of last season once we got the green light to bring him in.

“Some can drag on but in my time generally we’ve been good, the representatives have been good and it’s all got done rather quickly.

“We could do with that happening this season or at the end of the season.”