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The Lancashire Telegraph
News, sport and entertainment from all over East Lancashire
Playmaker Formica is latest Rovers star set to head towards the Ewood exit door (From Lancashire Telegraph)
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Playmaker Formica is latest Rovers star set to head towards the Ewood exit door
7:49am Wednesday 6th June 2012 in News
By Andy Cryer
, Blackburn Rovers reporter
MAURO Formica is the latest Blackburn Rovers star ready to quit Ewood Park – as the continuing confusion at the club threatens to hit their Championship preparations.
Rovers’ Argentine playmaker has been unsuccessfully seeking talks with the club since their Premier League relegation more than three weeks ago.
And, with interest from clubs in Turkey and Italy, Formica is preparing to turn his back on the Ewood Park uncertainty in the search for a fresh challenge elsewhere.
As Ewood Park staff wait for the green light to start planning for next campaign, a number of Rovers players have already indicated their desire to quit the club this summer.
Junior Hoilett, Martin Olsson, Steven Nzonzi and Yakubu are all seeking exits in search of top flight football, while a contracted pay cut may force Gael Givet out of Ewood.
A provisional list of targets had already been drawn up in case of relegation last season but, with silence from India, staff in England have been unable to start the recruitment process.
Co owner Venkatesh Rao’s statement less than a fortnight ago saying that the owners were ‘confused’ and would need a month to sort things out further muddied the waters.
He declined to back under fire manager Steve Kean, with the owners still understood to be split on his future, while it is believed Venky’s are in the process of attempting to find a replacement for axed deputy chief executive Paul Hunt.
Rovers boss Steve Kean, who is on holiday, is understood to be the only one in direct contact with club matriarch Anuradha Desai but a lack of communication with players and Ewood staff is in danger of leaving the club playing catch up with their rivals.
Formica, 24, signed for Rovers from Newell’s Old Boys for an estimated £3.5m in January 2011 and was immediately touted by boss Kean as the ‘new Gabriel Batistuta’.
Nicknamed Gato - meaning cat - he made 34 Premier League appearances last campaign, including nine from the substitutes bench, and scored four goals.
He is under contract until the summer of 2014 and Rovers would look to recoup the price they paid for Formica, and more, to even tempt them into considering a sale.
Formica almost moved to Greek outfit Olympiakos last January and, unless Rovers can convince him the future is bright in the coming ways, will be seeking an exit this summer.
A source close to Formica said: “I don´t know what happening with Mauro, because in the past three weeks it was impossible to talk with anyone in Blackburn.
“We want to know the Blackburn´s ideas about the future, but he is looking for another club in Europe. I think it is the better way.”
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