Kean hopeful of keeping key trio

Steve Kean is confident that Christopher Samba will still be at Blackburn Rovers come the end of the January transfer window.

QPR, Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain are all reportedly keen on securing the services of Samba, who has submitted a transfer request in his bid to leave English Premier League strugglers Rovers.

Manager Kean has revealed Rovers have only received two bids so far, both from the same club – reported to be league rivals Rangers.

The Ewood Park outfit have refused to reveal the identity of the bidders, as they look to get Samba back to fitness after a stomach bug ahead of Saturday’s league match against Everton.

Kean told Sky Sports News: “Chris is here in the building just now. He had quite a bad stomach virus over the weekend. We have to make sure that’s fine.”

“He’s here, he’s training today. The statement reads for itself. We want to keep Chris. Obviously we know there are bids out there for him.”

“It’s a mark of what we’re trying to do that we’ve refused the bids. That’s where we are. Hopefully he’ll be training tomorrow with us.”

“The statement is there for everyone to see. We’ve had two bids from one club. There’s not been any other clubs in contact.”

“Chris is under contract. We had dialogue with Chris on Tuesday and obviously he’s handed in a transfer request.”

“We are where we are. We want him to stay at the club. That’s what we’ll be fighting to do.”

Kean was also asked about the future of Scott Dann, who was rumoured to have a clause in his contract allowing him to leave if fellow central defender Samba was to depart.

“I’ve dismissed that totally that there’s any type of situation in Scott’s contract that said that Chris has got to stay,” Kean said.

Kean was also optimistic about the chances of retaining star forward Junior Hoilett: “I think it’s been very public where we are with Junior’s contract,” he said.

“I think if anyone saw him play on Saturday against Fulham he’s playing for the club and his team-mates.”

“I’ve never had a problem in bringing Junior up through the development pathway he’s had at the club. He’s a top player and we’re still hopeful he can be with us.”

“If it goes beyond this window and he’s still here until the end of the season then we’ll have to sit down at the appropriate time with him and tie him to the club because we’re developing players and we want to keep him.”