BLACKBURN ROVERS have completed the signing of Newcastle’s Republic of Ireland striker Leon Best. The Lancashire club have agreed a fee of more than €3.75 million for the 25-year-old, who has penned a four-year contract at Ewood Park.

The Championship club confirmed the switch in a statement on their website, which read: “Blackburn Rovers have this evening completed the signing of Leon Best from Newcastle United.

“The 25-year-old striker makes the move from the North East to the North West for a fee of more than £3m, signing a four-year deal.”

Best, who has been handed the number nine shirt at his new club, becomes Rovers’ second signing of the summer after Danny Murphy as Blackburn look for an immediate return to the Premier League following their relegation last season.

Nottingham-born Best began his professional career at Southampton and during three years on the south coast spent time out on loan at QPR, Sheffield Wednesday, Bournemouth and Yeovil.

In 2007 he joined Coventry, where he spent three years before being signed by Newcastle for €1.35 million in February 2010.

Best has found himself surplus to requirements since the arrivals of Demba Ba and later, Papiss Cisse.

He was signed by then manager Chris Hughton to help bolster the squad for a promotion push which ultimately proved successful, as Newcastle made an immediate return to the top flight in the wake of relegation.

Injuries meant he had to wait almost a year to score his first goal for the club, although he opened his account in style with a hat-trick in a 5-0 thrashing of West Ham in January last year with Alan Pardew having replaced the man who had signed him.

But Best has found his chances few and far between in more recent times and has been linked with a series of clubs since the turn of the year.