Roque Santa Cruz Returns To Blackburn, Secures Loan Deal From Manchester City

Santa Cruz enjoyed the greatest success of his career in Lancashire, scoring 23 all competition goals in 2007-08 after a summer move from Bayern Munich. In the last two-and-a-half seasons, Santa Cruz has tallied only 10 goals. With the acquisition of Edin Dzeko combining with resurgence of Jô to push Santa Cruz further down Roberto Mancini’s depth chart, the striker was destined for a January departure.

While it’s unclear whether Santa Cruz possesses either the form or health to be an improvement, the prospect of a legitimate scoring threat is sure to inspire hope at Ewood. Since Santa Cruz left at the end of the 2008-09 season, Blackburn as lacked somebody who can consistently score goals. Roberts led last year’s team with five goals, and with Kalinic and Morten Gamst Petersen leading their year’s team with four.