Allardyce fancies Santa gift

Published Nov. 26, 2010 3:01 p.m. ET

foxsports

Sam Allardyce would like to re-sign Roque Santa Cruz but has no idea whether the new Blackburn owners could afford the Manchester City striker.

However, the Paraguay international has struggled to make an impact at Eastlands and is reported to be keen on a move back to Ewood Park.

Santa Cruz is the kind of "impact" player Allardyce is looking for and the manager hopes to have money to spend in January following the £23million takeover of the club last week by Indian company Venky's.

Whether it would be enough to make a transfer possible, though, remains to be seen.

Asked if Santa Cruz was the type of player he would like to sign for Blackburn, Allardyce said: "Yes, I think so - there is no doubt about that.

"Whether players of that ilk want to come back to Blackburn Rovers and play for us, that is fine - but it all depends on the financial side of it.

"They have blown everyone out of the water recently by the signings they have made and the main reason has been the size of the financial package they have been offering.

"Whether Manchester City can recoup their money or whether we can afford that player's wages is a difficult scenario to try and get over."