Kean wants Samba back on board

Blackburn boss Steve Kean has told Christopher Samba to forget about a move away from the club now the transfer window has shut.

Samba, 27, was the subject of much speculation throughout January.

The former Hertha Berlin submitted a transfer request on January 16, which, although rejected by Blackburn’s owners, prompted reported interest from the likes of Queens Park Rangers, Tottenham Hotspur and Paris Saint-Germain.

Kean opted to leave Samba out of the Rovers team for Wednesday’s 2-0 English Premier League defeat to Newcastle United.

“I didn’t feel as though he was in the right frame of mind,” Kean told reporters.

“He was fit and available but that was my decision. It wasn’t that Chris refused or anything, far from it.”

“I felt the defence against Everton and Fulham did well enough that I wouldn’t have changed it anyway.”

With centre-back Ryan Nelson leaving the club to sign for Tottenham on transfer deadline day, Kean has called on Samba to focus on the club’s battle to avoid the drop.

“Obviously Chris had handed in a transfer request, wanted to leave the club, that was refused,” he said.

“We didn’t have any (more) bids, which was good really because we were only going to turn them down.”

“I’ll sit down with Chris and I’ll say, ‘Let’s move on. You’re at the club, let’s get back to what normally happens when the window closes’, where his performance level is very high and I don’t foresee any other problems.”