DANNY Graham is keeping an open mind about his future as he waits for Blackburn Rovers to appoint their new manager.

Graham proved to be a big hit for Rovers after signing on loan from Sam Allardyce’s Sunderland in January.

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The experienced striker netted seven goals in 18 games to finish as the club’s leading marksman in 2015-16.

But his fine form at Ewood Park, where he swiftly became a fans’ favourite, has alerted a number of their Championship rivals.

Newly promoted Wigan Athletic, Birmingham City and Preston North End are all chasing Graham’s signature on a free transfer.

But the biggest interest in the former Watford and Swansea City frontman, who will become a free agent on July 1 as he has no intention of penning a new contract with Sunderland, could come from Celtic.

Brendan Rodgers, the new boss of the Scottish Premiership champions, signed the 30-year-old for £3.5m when he was in charge of Swansea.

Graham, who flourished under Rodgers, had previously stated his desire to remain at Rovers after rediscovering his scoring touch at the club.

But those declarations came before Paul Lambert announced his decision to walk away from the Ewood Park hotseat.

However it is understood that Graham, who credited the role Lambert played in his upturn in fortunes, has not ruled out making a permanent move to Rovers.

Instead he is waiting for the club to name a replacement for the ex-Norwich City and Aston Villa boss.

If Lambert’s successor indicated he wanted to sign Graham, then them the former Middlesbrough and Carlisle United forward could be willing to open talks.

Graham said in April, days before Lambert announced his departure: “Would I like to stay? Then yes. But it’s out of my hands at the moment.

“Blackburn took a chance on me when I wasn’t playing a lot up at Sunderland and a lot of people questioned my fitness.

“I had a tough few years with not scoring many goals and that might have put people off.

“But as soon as I walked in the door the gaffer said he knew what I was about and he knew that I could score goals.

“From the first minute it seems to have been a perfect fit.”

A sticking point could be Graham’s wages. He was said to be on £35,000 per week at Sunderland.

Rovers were making a large contribution toward his pay packet while he was at the club.

They also signed six other players – three on permanent deals – during the January and emergency loan windows before recovering some of their outlay by selling Jordan Rhodes to Middlesbrough.

But director Mike Cheston has made it clear the club will have the ‘cut our cloth accordingly’ going forward after Premier League parachute payments ended.

However the new Rovers manager will have to strengthen his frontline as the club is set to have zero strikers on its books beyond June 30.

Simeon Jackson, Chris Brown and Nathan Delfouneso are all out of contract.

Jackson, out of the three, is understood to stand the best chance of being handed fresh terms.

But the final decision on the eight senior players whose current deals expire on June 30 will be made by the yet to be appointed new boss.

Rovers currently have 16 first-team players under contract for next season, a figure which includes goalkeepers Jason Steele and David Raya, and young wingers John O’Sullivan and Connor Mahoney.