CHRISTIAN Dailly joined Blackburn Rovers in a record £5.35 million transfer for a defender between British clubs last night then revealed how big a part ex-Ewood boss Jim Smith had played in the move, writes PETER WHITE.

On a dramatic UEFA Cup deadline day for signings, Rovers managed to persuade both Derby County to part with their Scottish international defender and Dailly to join Roy Hodgson's drive for honours.

And the two managers clearly had an integral role in the transfer that saw Rovers bring a satisfying end to their search for a new defender after Colin Hendry's defection.

Derby boss Smith was reluctant to lose one of his star players but money talked in the end.

Dailly, who has signed a six-year contract, said: "Jim Smith came to see me and it was strange, because I don't really think at the bottom of his heart he wanted me to go.

"But these things happen in football. The money Blackburn are paying for me is a huge sum and Derby just can't afford not to accept it. To be fair, Derby did their absolute utmost to stop the bid going through and I think there were a few bids before it was finally accepted.

"But once it all happened the gaffer had a word with me and told me what a great club Blackburn was and what a brilliant manager they had in Roy Hodgson.

"I did ask him about that because I value Jim Smith's judgment very highly, he's been brilliant for me.

"It has been unbelievable. I got a telephone call at 7pm on Wednesday night and I was gobsmacked.

"Since then, it has been a roller-coaster ride but it has ended with me signing for Blackburn and I am thrilled.

"It's a fantastic set-up with a brilliant manager who is an excellent coach and it can only be good for me." Rovers were virtually forced to sell 32-year-old Colin Hendry for £4 million to Rangers but they have managed to sign a 24-year-old replacement for just £1.3 million more.

So they can be well satisfied with their week's work.

Hodgson is certainly happy with his new recruit.

"When we drew up a profile, some of the factors that were important were the pace of the player, his mobility and athleticism and, of course, his ability to play with the ball and be constructive," he said.

"That led us down certain pathways and one of them was Christian Dailly.

"I mentioned the matter to Jim Smith on Saturday night, without naming the player. I told him, because we are friends, I would be ringing him on Monday morning because we wanted to sign one of his players.

"We were anxious to sign a top-quality player when we lost Colin Hendry and we started our negotiations with Derby in the early part of this week.

"We didn't want to contact Derby before then because we didn't want to be seen, in any way, destabilising the opening match of the season.

"As soon as the match was over we told them we wanted to sign one of their best players. "They responded by telling us that if you pay us a king's ransom you can take him. So we have paid the king's ransom.

"We are pleased he is with us. He is a young man and it's my judgment at stake here but I think he has an excellent future.

"His performances to date have been very good.

"I hope our fans will give him the sort of reception and start they gave to Colin Hendry when he came here.

"Christian and Colin are different players. What we are hoping is that Christian is going to give us the sort of service that Colin did and is going to prove a successful member of a successful Blackburn Rovers team."

Ewood chief executive John Williams said: "In this calendar year our signings have gone to circa £18 million and underpin Jack Walker's commitment to this club.

"We are committed to excellence both on and off the field."

Derby immediately spent £700,000 on Leicester defender Spencer Prior.

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