Bulgarian’s Blackburn move blocked

The Litex Lovech forward passed a medical at the club last week and

had agreed terms on a deal but the Home Office have refused to

grant him the necessary paperwork. The problem is that Popov has

not made enough appearances for Bulgaria, having missed several

games in the last year due to injury. The 22-year-old has scored

three goals in 15 matches for his country since making his debut in

2007 and is expected to start Friday’s Euro 2012 qualifier against

England. The news that he does not qualify for a work permit will

come as a major blow to Blackburn as Popov is regarded as a bright

prospect for the future and was instrumental in helping Lovech win

last season’s Bulgarian title. Rovers were reportedly ready to pay

3million euros (£2.5m) to secure Popov’s services and Sam

Allardyce had been hopeful of completing the deal.