Blackburn Rovers have triggered a £500,000 release clause in the contract of Crewe Alexandra defender Connor O'Riordan.

Rovers want to make the defender their first signing of the January transfer window and are favourites to do so. Six other clubs, including four from the Championship, are also tracking the 20-year-old.

The Lancashire Telegraph understands Rovers have followed the progress of O'Riordan for a while and made bids to sign him in the summer transfer window.

However, they have now placed a bid of half a million to secure his services, with personal terms to be agreed. They're described as favourites for his signature with the young defender impressed by the pathway available at Ewood Park.

O'Riordan is a highly-rated centre-back and has 18 months left to run on his Crewe deal and is seen as another rough diamond that Rovers could polish and develop.

The young defender has already made his debut for the Republic of Ireland Under-21 set-up and has been a regular for Crewe in League Two this season.

He is the latest talent to come through their academy and will follow in the footsteps of Harry Pickering by making the switch from red to blue and white halves.

The defender has made over 50 appearances for the Railway men, making his debut for the club in December 2021. 18 of those outings have come this season and he's also chipped in with three goals for his club.

O'Riordan is expected to remain around the first-team set-up at Rovers for the remainder of the season with the aim of forcing his way in. Jon Dahl Tomasson has four senior centre-back options but has been left light at times due to injuries.

Rovers carried five centre-backs last year, with Daniel Ayala and Ash Phillips leaving in the summer and only James Hill arriving on loan. The Bournemouth starlet has also been used at right-back with Joe Rankin-Costello on the sidelines.

Venky's financial issues have been well documented but the club did pay two six-figure fees in the summer for Leopold Wahlstedt and Semir Telalovic.

Chief Executive Steve Waggott said the recruitment team were working on short and long-term deals ahead of the January window. Contract renewals have also been a part of their strategy, tying down Sam Szmodics, Adam Wharton and Harry Pickering, with Dom Hyam likely to follow.

Gregg Broughton revealed Rovers will make around £5million from David Raya's move from Brentford to Arsenal when that becomes permanent next summer. The new EFL TV deal is likely to bring in increased revenue to the club as well.

Loan deals remain on the cars for January to help bolster the squad. As with the summer, deals are likely to be on an ad-hoc basis, depending on the owners.