Jon Dahl Tomasson has confirmed that Rovers are interested in signing Hibernian central defender Ryan Porteous this month.

The club have tabled a six-figure offer for the Scotland international and Tomasson says Rovers are waiting to learn if they have won the race for the 23-year-old.

Hibs are resigned to losing Porteous in this window due to his contract expiring in the summer, but he is expected to feature in Sunday's Scottish Cup tie with Hearts.

Interest in his signature is high however, and the Lancashire Telegraph understands that Rovers’ biggest competition comes from Udinese and Watford, who are part of the same ownership group.

Tomasson said he is thinking longer-term with the January window, and the Porteous deal isn't a case of accelerating their plans with news that Dom Hyam will be out for up to four weeks with an ankle problem.

“We have made an offer, yes,” Tomasson confirmed.

“We’re still waiting for the situation (to resolve) and that’s what we’re waiting for.

“In an ideal world you get all the players into the building, but it’s quite tough to attract all the players you want when the competition is extremely difficult.

“I know that the recruitment and (director of football) Gregg (Broughton) are trying their best in that way.”

Rovers are working on a deal for Nikita Haikin, with the 27-year-old goalkeeper a free agent after his release by Bodo/Glimt at the end of 2022, and the expectation is that will get over the line and be the first deal of the window.

The situation is less clear with Porteous, while Rovers are waiting on the green light from Brighton & Hove Albion in their pursuit of attacker Deniz Undav.

Tomasson is looking to add more ready-made players to his squad, and while he said finances make that difficult, he feels Rovers are in better shape to make things happen this month.

Asked how Rovers could attract more players in the Hyam mould, he said: “That’s of course with scouting, recruitment who’s up and running now which wasn’t in the summer.

“I think that can make a big advantage.

“We have been linked with a young defender from Scotland, but have also tried a few things.

“Ryan has played one game for Scotland, and is a leader as well, so we need to look into personalities and what we have in the building, because not everyone is a leader.

“Can you make a player a leader? Not that easy.

“He’s one player that we have made an offer for.

“At the end of the day let’s see if he goes to us because that’s a money issue and there’s also competition.

“That’s what we’re dealing with.

“We all know that in football, money decides quite a big deal.

“First of all it decides which kind of player you can attract and where you end in the league.”

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