BLACKBURN Rovers have completed the six-month loan signing of Chelsea starlet Franco Di Santo – with Croatian ace Nikola Kalinic set to follow later this week.
The 20-year-old Argentine striker completed the switch from Chelsea this evening – with Rovers given first option on extending the deal in January should the Stamford Bridge outfit not want him back.
The 6ft 4ins striker will provide competition for current strikers Benni McCarthy, Jason Roberts and Paul Gallagher, with Hadjuk Split’s Kalinic just waiting for a work permit before joining up with the squad.
From Wiki :
Di Santo began his club career with his local side Godoy Cruz in 2005, he stayed there for just one season, before moving to Chilean team Audax Italiano.[2] In the 2006-07 season, he scored 16 goals in 69 matches in 2007-08 he scored 19 in 17 matches for the club. On 25 January 2008, he signed for Chelsea.
Di Santo made his debut for the Argentina under-20 team in 2006 and scored his first goal in a game against the French under-20s.
He was part of the under-20 squad that participated in the 2007 South American Youth Championship in Paraguay and he got a hat trick in the competition against Venezuela when the Argentina team went on to win 6–0. Brazil went on to win the tournament having a two point advantage over Argentina.
Franco was also called up to the 2009 South American Youth Championship in Venezuela, but wasn’t allowed to take part due to Chelsea’s injury crises. From 2006 to 2009 Di Santo got 25 under 20 caps and 5 under 20 goals.
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Striker Franco di Santo is to stay with Blackburn Rovers for the rest of the season after his loan spell from Chelsea was extended.
The 20-year-old Argentine forward was due to return to Chelsea in January after he moved to Ewood Park in August.
He has scored one goal in 15 matches for Sam Allardyce’s side.
Di Santo joined Chelsea in January 2008 on a four-and-a-half year contract as an 18-year-old from Chilean side Audax Italiano for an undisclosed fee.
But he failed to establish himself at Stamford Bridge and has made just 16 substitute appearances.
Di Santo made his Premier League debut for Chelsea at home to Tottenham in August 2008 after impressing in the reserves with seven goals in his first eight appearances.
Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce has been given the green light to sign Chelsea striker Franco Di Santo on loan for the rest of the season.
The young Argentinian was due to return to Stamford Bridge at the end of the month, but now Carlo Ancelotti is willing to let him stay – with a view to a full transfer.
Di Santo, 20, has scored only once this season but has been a regular in Allardyce’s side and would save Rovers a small fortune by signing for the second half of the campaign.
Allardyce has been weighing up a move for unsettled Stoke striker James Beattie, but extending Di Santo’s loan will come within his budget and give him scope to wheel and deal.
Chelsea’s decision to let him stay – even when Didier Drogba goes to the African Cup of Nations – suggests Ancelotti is confident he will sign a new face next month.