BLACKBURN Rovers transfer target Morten Pedersen has been tipped to take the Premiership by storm if he seals a move to Ewood Park.

That's the view of former Rovers favourite and fellow Norwegian, Henning Berg, who has been closely monitoring the 22-year-old's progress over the last 12 months.

Rovers confirmed on Friday that they are in talks with Tromso over a £1.5 million deal for the highly-rated left winger.

Aston Villa, Newcastle and Manchester United have also been linked with the player during the last seven days.

And Berg believes whoever ultimately wins the battle for his signature could be onto a winner as he rates Pedersen amongst the hottest young properties in Scandinavia.

"Morten Pedersen is a very good player with a great left foot," said Berg, who made a total of 250 Premiership appearances for Rovers during two separate spells.

"He scores goals, he's quite tall for a winger, he takes free kicks and he knocks some great crosses in.

"He's definitely one for the future. He's played for Tromso for a couple of years now, as well as the Norway Under 21 team.

"He also recently broke into the full Norway squad and he's done really well so I'm sure quite a few clubs will be interested in signing him, not just Blackburn.

"I think he could be a hit in the Premier League.

"He's a bit of an unknown in terms of the fact he hasn't played at the top level for that long.

"But if you're talking about young players coming through with plenty of potential then he's got every chance of doing well in the Premier League, although you never really know until they've tried it.

"He's certainly one of the brightest young players in Norway and Blackburn are short of a genuine wide player so he'd fit in nicely there.

"A move to Blackburn would also suit him, too, because he's likely to play every week."

Rovers have made the recruitment of a genuine left-sided midfield player their top priority this summer.

Graeme Souness has been crying out for extra creativity on the left ever since Damien Duff left for Chelsea in a £17 million deal last summer.

But Berg has warned fans not to look on Pedersen as a direct replacement for the inspirational Irishman if he ends up agreeing a move to Rovers.

"It's inevitable that everyone will compare him to Damien Duff but I don't think that's right," said Berg.

"Duffer was a very, very special player and anyone who comes in will have a hard time trying to replace him.

"So it wouldn't be fair on anyone to draw comparisons, never mind a young player.

"Having said that, Blackburn could do a lot worse than sign Morten Pedersen because he's one for the future."

Ironically, Berg is likely to play in the same team as Pedersen for the first and only time this week when he returns to the international side for one last time.

The former Manchester United star has announced his plans to retire this summer and he will bring the curtain down on an illustrious career when Norway play Wales in a friendly.

Assuming he plays, the veteran defender will win his 100th and final international cap.

"I said after last season when we failed to qualify for the European Championships that I was going to retire," said Berg, who also quit Rangers recently after a season in Scotland.

"But I'm hoping to play some part against Wales. That will be my last game and it will take me to 100 caps."