Blackburn Rovers have been declared the winners of the roller-coaster race to sign Dundee United striker David Goodwillie.
The Scotland internationalist passed a medical at Ewood Park and will this morning undergo a routine MRI scan before finally putting an end to the long-running transfer saga later today.
A relaxed Goodwillie (22) spent yesterday having a tour of the stadium and Brockhall training facilities, even finding time to sign autographs for young Blackburn supporters.
A Tannadice source said he was “100% certain” to complete the switch to Lancashire and that news will come as a huge blow to rival bidders Rangers and their manager Ally McCoist in particular, who was making positive noises regarding the frontman as late as yesterday afternoon as he prepared for their Champions League qualifier in Malmo.
This tale has had several twists and turns, with Goodwillie first expected to sign for Blackburn over the weekend after the clubs agreed a fee on Friday.
The deal was held up by a wrangle involving his United contract and the doubts began to set in.
Once that was sorted, though, the player then headed to England on Monday to finalise his £20,000-a-week, four-year deal and he had expected to undergo a medical then.
But the switch was hit by a further snag when Blackburn boss Steve Kean, en route from Hong Kong, changed his travel plans to visit club owners Venkys in India.
With no face-to-face meeting with his would-be manager imminent, Goodwillie returned to Scotland without signing.
With the deal in some doubt at that point, Kean personally contacted the player by phone to assure him he was wanted at Blackburn, so Goodwillie travelled south again yesterday.
Such was Rangers’ desperation not to miss out on the man McCoist said was his number one signing target, the Glasgow club tabled a further two bids while Goodwillie was in the process of undergoing his medical examination.
Although the Ibrox side did get close to matching Blackburn’s overall package of £2 million cash plus £800,000 in add-ons, it was not close enough, and United chairman Stephen Thompson stood firm under pressure again.
There were even reports from west of Scotland media outlets that Rangers had outbid Blackburn, but they were dismissed by Thompson as being well wide of the mark.
“Rangers’ bid was not acceptable and the overall deal was not as much as was on offer from Blackburn Rovers,” said the Tangerines’ chairman.
Ironically, Goodwillie’s first outing as a Premiership player could be back up in Scotland, with Rovers playing a friendly against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park on Saturday.