BLACKBURN Rovers are willing to listen to offers for Maceo Rigters - less than a year after manager Mark Hughes snapped him up from NAC Breda.

The 24-year-old striker, who was one of the stars at last summer's European Under 21 Championships, has struggled to make a similar impact in English football, having made just seven appearances for Rovers during what proved to be a deeply frustrating debut season.

Now Hughes is prepared to let the frontman leave, providing the club can recoup the £350,000 it cost to bring him to Ewood 11 months ago.

A Rovers source told the Lancashire Telegraph: "We are willing to listen to offers for Maceo.

"His agent has told us Maceo wants to be playing regular first-team football and, because we can't guarantee him that, we would consider letting him move on."

It appeared as though Hughes had pulled off a major coup last summer when he beat a clutch of clubs, including Newcastle United and Celtic, to Rigters' signature, just weeks after the player had set the European Under 21 Championships alight with a series of eye-catching displays.

In total, the live-wire striker bagged five goals during the tournament, including a spectacular overhead effort against England, to land the Golden Boot, and his prolific partnership with team-mate Ryan Babel was one of the key factors behind Holland's title triumph.

However, Rigters has since failed to repeat that goalscoring form at Rovers, where he has found himself fifth in the pecking order for striking places behind Roque Santa Cruz, Jason Roberts, Benni McCarthy and Matt Derbyshire.

In fact at one point last season, Hughes even agreed to send him out to Norwich City on loan, although his spell at Carrow Road was crudely cut short by a hamstring injury after just two substitute appearances.

But, while Rigters might not have had the impact Hughes was hoping for, Rovers could still end up making a small profit on their investment, with several clubs in the Championship, as well as his native Holland, likely to be interested in his services.