DAVID Goodwillie is prepared to make one final attempt to prove himself during pre-season as his Blackburn Rovers future remains unresolved.

Rovers rejected a loan bid from Goodwillie’s former club Dundee United earlier this month, with Gary Bowyer saying he was in no rush to push the striker out of the Ewood Park exit door.

Goodwillie is keen for regular football this season, after starting only two games in the whole of last term, and would be tempted by the opportunity to move on if he is unlikely to feature often for Rovers.

Blackpool are considering a potential loan move for the 24-year-old but the Bloomfield Road side are prepared to wait until closer to the start of the season before making a final decision.

Dundee United would also still be interested in signing Goodwillie but their previous loan offer was rejected because of the percentage of the players’ wages that they were prepared to pay. That would remain a major issue for them – as it would be for Hearts, who were interested at the start of the summer but have since gone into administration.

Bolton Wanderers have also been linked. It is understood that Goodwillie is now ready to go all out in pre-season to prove to Bowyer that he is worth a place in the Rovers team for the new campaign.

The forward, who still has two years left on his contract at the club, may then reassess the situation nearer to the start of the season. He spent the first half of last season on loan at Crystal Palace but did not settle in London and quickly returned to Ewood.

Stoke could be set to drop their interest in Martin Olsson as they closed in on a deal for PSV Eindhoven left back Erik Pieters last night.

New Stoke boss Mark Hughes has been looking for a left back and it is understood that Olsson, left, and Pieters were the two names on his shortlist for the position. The majority of the Rovers squad were back at Brockhall for pre-season fitness tests yesterday before the start of training today.

Bowyer is continuing with plans to add to his squad, with David Jones and Frederic Veseli among his targets.

Rovers are scheduled to launch their new home kit on Tuesday, with the club also hoping to finalise a shirt sponsor. Rovers are also in the process of applying to upgrade their Academy from category two to category one status under the national Elite Player Performance Plan.

Club representatives travelled to London last week over their application, having been granted only category two status last year.

They have since invested further in their academy, including a new 3G artificial playing surface at Brockhall.