THE Nathan Blake transfer mystery was unravelled today when the Wanderers striker joined Blackburn Rovers in a £4.25 million deal. After weeks of speculation, which reached fever pitch over the last 48 hours, the Wales international agreed personal terms with the Ewood Park club and was completing the formalities of the deal this morning.

Rovers boss Roy Hodgson was aiming to tie up the loose ends in time to have Blake in his squad for tomorrow's Premiership game at Wimbledon - ironically one of their rivals in the race for the Reebok hit-man's signature.

The deal, subject to medical, was clinched after Coventry striker Dion Dublin controversially turned down a £6.75 million transfer to Rovers.

And it dealt a double blow to the Sky Blues, who had lined up the Bolton goal star as a replacement for their wantaway England man.

They claim to have agreed a £3 million fee with Wanderers on Monday and hoped to be speaking to Blake this morning in a bid to persuade him to move to Highfield Road.

But once the Dublin transfer to Blackburn fell through and Rovers switched their sights down the road to Blake, all bets were off. Having rejected a Wimbledon bid of well below £3 million earlier this month and shunned an approach from Southampton, Wanderers felt Hodgson's was more to their liking.

"It was an offer that came in from Blackburn that matched the value we had put on the player, if we were going to sell him," Colin Todd explained.

"That was what we were looking for and, when we reached that target, we felt it was the right thing to do.

"It's disappointing for me and it might be disappointing for supporters to lose a player who has done very well for the club over a number of years.But there were many factors to be considered, including the fact that Nathan wanted to be playing in the Premiership and that we were heading towards a period when he would have been out of contract. That had a considerable bearing on the decision.

"I've turned down a few offers from lesser clubs but I always knew that Blackburn were going to be involved if the Dublin deal fell through. Nathan was in a position to speak to two clubs - Blackburn and Coventry - but his agent felt there was only one club to speak to and that was Blackburn. "He's going to a club that is struggling for goals at the moment but I'm sure they won't be for long."

The sudden emergence of Arnar Gunnlaugsson this season has given Wanderers the scope to cash in on Blake, who arrived in a £1.5 million deal from Sheffield United in December 1995. He had a poor first season in the Premiership but showed his scoring powers as Wanderers stormed back at the first attempt and last season scored 12 Premiership goals.

As Blake prepared to return to the top flight, Todd set about adjusting his game plan for Sunday's Reebok showdown with Division One leaders and promotion rivals Sunderland.

Bob Taylor and record signing Dean Holdsworth are the contenders for the role as partner to top scorer Gunnlaugsson.

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