Football: Jansen joins Rovers strike force

FOR A man who needed persuasion to be a manager, Brian Kidd shows no reluctance to take the risk of spending money. Yesterday he pushed his outlay in the five weeks since he took over at Blackburn to nearly pounds 12m when Crystal Palace's Matt Jansen signed a deal which will keep him at Ewood Park until June 2004.

Jansen's fee, pounds 4.1m, took Kidd's spending to pounds 11.6m when added to fees for Ashley Ward and Keith Gillespie and there could be more to come. Blackburn have also had preliminary discussions to buy Crewe's Seth Johnson and Liverpool's Jason McAteer, although in the latter case the player's wage demands seems to have put paid to a deal.

If they did sign both there would be an embarrassment of riches in midfield as well as up front because Jansen, 21, joins five other big-money strikers at the club - Ward, Chris Sutton, Kevin Davies, Kevin Gallacher and Nathan Blake.

"Competition is good," Jansen said. "I'm a confident player. I believe in my ability and everyone has to play for their place which I intend to do. Hopefully I'll get a permanent position." Competition is a word that has been associated with Jansen almost as soon as he began playing for Carlisle in 1997.

Thirteen months ago, Manchester United wished to buy him, but he preferred Palace, and this time Newcastle United were Blackburn's rivals for his signature. Jansen rejected Old Trafford but his week's trial was important, because he impressed Kidd - and the reaction was mutual.

It is to be hoped his choice proves wiser than his last one because, although his performances for Palace led him to be picked at England Under- 21 level last summer, his relationship with the London club deteriorated as their financial position worsened.

Reports, largely instigated by Palace's former manager Terry Venables, suggested that Jansen had gone on strike in an attempt to leave Selhurst Park - but he vigorously denied it yesterday.

"They pulled me out of matches because they said I wouldn't be in the right frame of mind," he said. "There were a lot of rumours flying around. It was frustrating because it came out it was my fault, and that wasn't true. I had a good rapport with the fans and some of them didn't know what was going on. The crux of it was that financially Crystal Palace had to sell me.

"I was a little bit disappointed with Terry Venables' version. But he's a great man, I got on very well with him." As for why he went to Selhurst Park ahead of Old Trafford, Jansen said was won over by Palace's former chairman, Ron Noades. "Obviously the first-team opportunities were greater," he added.

Now he has to win a first-team place at Ewood Park, although Tony Parkes, Kidd's assistant, suggested that can be taken as read.

"When you talk about there being a lot of strikers here, a lot of them are not Brian's signings," Parkes said. "He's a different type of striker to many we've got, and you need a balance. From that point of view he's got every chance of being in the side."

John Harkes has linked up again with Ron Atkinson, the new Nottingham Forest manager. The former United States international midfielder, who played under Atkinson for Sheffield Wednesday, has arrived at the City Ground on a two-week trial from Washington DC United.

The next Forest signing should be the Southampton midfielder Carlton Palmer. The former England international underwent a medical in Nottingham yesterday and should complete his pounds 1.1m move today.