BLACKBURN boss Graeme Souness is closing in on West Brom defender Neil Clement.

I can exclusively reveal Souness has made an enquiry about the 23-year-old left back as he looks to beef up his defensive resources.

But Albion boss Gary Megson has rebuffed Rovers' initial approach by insisting the former Chelsea man is not for sale.

"We have made an enquiry about Clement," said Souness today.

"But at this moment in time West Brom don't want to sell him.

"He's someone we had targeted for a while because he's a young man with lots of promise and we felt he was one who could only get better.

"He's the right age because we're looking to build a back four which could stay together for a very long time.

"So he's one we would definitely like to buy but, after making an initial enquiry last week, West Brom have since come back and said they wouldn't even entertain an offer."

Souness has tried to sign a left-back for some time having failed in bids to land Birmingham's Martin Grainger and Liverpool's Djimi Traore.

But, though he recently snapped up Nils-Eric Johansson from Nuremberg, he still wants more cover for Stig Bjornebye.

Although, Albion have knocked back his initial approach for Clement, they could still be persuaded to change their minds.

The former Chelsea man recently turned down a new contract at Hawthorns.

And they may ultimately decide to cash in now rather than run the risk of losing him on a free.

Widely regarded as one of the hottest young talents outside the Premiership, he was voted West Brom's player of the year last season after a string of impressive performances took Albion to the play-offs.

And his manager, Megson, has since described him as the best executioner of a deadball in the First Division, together with Albion team-mate Michael Appleton.

Meanwhile, one player who could be on the move today is Jason McAteer.

The Republic of Ireland international is believed to have undergone a medical last night with a view to a £1 million move to Sunderland.

And, provided a few loose ends are tied up today, he could even link up with the Black Cats in time for the weekend.

In the meantime, Souness and his squad are busy preparing for tomorrow's trip to Sunderland.

And the Ewood chief is expecting a totally different game from the one at Highbury in the FA Cup last season, when Rovers crashed 3-0.

"I expect it's going to be a completely different game to last season," said Souness.

"When we went down there we had to get a result on the day otherwise it could have affected our promotion hopes so we probably went into it a bit too cavalier.

"But we'll be going with a different gameplan this time and, hopefully, it should be more of a contest.

"The players know the size of the task. Arsenal are one of the best teams in England, if not in Europe.

"But after Sunday's result, we can go there with confidence, although this is going to be a very different test to the one we faced against West Ham."

Marcus Bent returns after suspension and Keith Gillespie could make the bench after missing the last five games with a knee injury.

But Damien Duff and Martin Taylor are still missing.

Rovers are likely to choose from: Friedel, Filan, Curtis, Neill, Bjornebye, Johansson, Berg, Short, Flitcroft, Dunn, Johnson, Tugay, Gillespie, Jansen, Grabbi, Hughes, Bent, Hignett.