Rovers were facing the prospect of huge changes to their striking ranks on this day in 2009, as Mark Hughes stepped up his attempts to raid his former club for Roque Santa Cruz.

Olympiakos were also set to launch a £3m bid for striker Matt Derbyshire after his prolific loan spell helped them to a league and cup double.

Santa Cruz had a clause in his contract allowing him to leave for £20m that summer, but concerns over the injury record of the Paraguayan frontman meant clubs were unwilling to meet that figure.

Rovers were happy to accept smaller transfer fee plus a “suitable player” in exchange for their top scorer, with Daniel Sturridge a possible pawn in the deal.

At the same time Sam Allardyce was considering a move for Tottenham forward Darren Bent, with Rovers keen to resolve the issue of Santa Cruz’s future.

Meanwhile, the Greek giants were set to make official their interest in Derbyshire who scored twice as a half-time substitute to help Olympiakos win a thrilling cup final as they backed up their league title.

When in charge of Rovers in 2006, Hughes was biding his time in the transfer market having presented a list of targets to the board. The recruitment of a proven strike partner for Craig Bellamy, who scored 17 times in his debut season at Ewood Park, was the top priority, with Eidur Gudjohnsen, Emile Heskey and Benni McCarthy all linked.

After a seventh-placed finish in the defence of their Premier League title win, Ray Harford was aiming to form a squad capable of winning back their crown.

Interest in Bordeaux pair Zinedine Zidane and Christophe Dugarry had been well-documented, with Harford having watched £4m-rated Duggary in action.

A strike partner for Alan Shearer was seen as more of a priority than the midfield option of Zidane, while a winger, Panathinaikos’

Georgios Donis, was being lined up on a free transfer.

However, the following year, in 1997, Rovers were distancing themselves from suggestions linking them to Russian striker Igor Kolyvanov, then with Italian side Bologna.

Also on this day, moves were being held up, with Vrastislav Gresko in danger of seeing his switch to Ewood fall through over a row over pay.

The Slovakian international was in dispute with Parma in 2003 over what he claims are outstanding debts owed to him, and the Italian club weren’t willing to rubber-stamp a permanent move to Rovers, after an initial loan spell, until a settlement could be reached.

In 1999, Stephane Henchoz’s expected departure after relegation was set to be delayed by surgery on a groin injury that had plagued him during the second half of the season.

A target for Liverpool and also believed to be on the wanted list of several Bundesliga clubs, the defender returned home to Switzerland to see a specialist.

Two other players linked with a Rovers exit, but who later declared their intention to stay, was Morten Gamst Pedersen and Nuno Gomes.

In 2010, 28-year-old winger Pedersen ended intense speculation over his Rovers future by committing himself to the club for a further four years.

Pedersen’s decision to extend his six-year stay in East Lancashire came after weeks of uncertainty, with Palermo, Fiorentina and Galatasaray among a host of European clubs keen to lure the services of the player whose deal had been coming to an end.

Meanwhile, in 2013, Nuno Gomes had no plans to push for an exit.

Gomes had been frustrated by a lack of match action, starting only one game in the final seven months of the season, but was keen to see out the remaining year on his contract.

Elsewhere, in 1998 teenage sensation Jimmy Corbett was set to move to Rovers on a seven-year contract from Second Division side Gillingham in a £1m deal.