PLAYER PROFILE

Morten Gamst Pedersen

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Morten Gamst Pedersen

Blackburn Rovers completed the signing of Norwegian international Morten Gamst Pedersen from Tromso shortly before the transfer window closed in August 2004.

Rovers boss Graeme Souness fought off competition from Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United to sign the 22-year-old winger.

Souness' initial bid was rejected but, after lengthy negotiations, Tromso accepted a package reported to be worth around £2.5million for the highly-rated player

Pedersen signed a four-year deal with the Premiership side.

Despite a fairly slow start, his first season at Ewood Park proved to be a great success. After breaking into Mark Hughes's starting line up, he made 27 appearances, scoring 8 goals, including the winner, four minutes from time, in a 2-1 FA Cup Fifth Round Replay against bitter local rivals Burnley.

He also continued to be an integral part of the Norweigen international set-up, making 7 appearances and scoring once.

It was in the 2005/06 season, however, that Pedersen would truly make his mark, scoring ten times in forty-two games. He produced similar stats in 06/07, and once again in 2007/08.

Under Paul Ince, Pedersen found himself sidelined in the first part of 2008/09, but he was a more regular fixture in the starting eleven under Sam Allardyce.