ASTON Villa striker John Carew is being tracked by Blackburn Rovers as Sam Allardyce steps up his search for an experienced Premier League frontman.

The unsettled Norwegian is being monitored by Rovers and is understood to be available for a cut-price fee of less than £3million with his Villa Park contract expiring at the end of the season.

No contact has been made with either his representatives or Villa though and Rovers are understood to have several other strikers with Premier League experience on their list of targets, including Liverpool’s David Ngog.

Carew, on trial with Rovers as a youngster, would fit the bill in terms of what Allardyce is looking for to bolster his firepower options in January with the amount of Premier League strikers available for the right price seriously limited.

The striker, 31, is unavailable for injury but his 37 league goals since signing for the Midlanders in 2007 would be attractive to Allardyce.

Several foreign clubs are also chasing Carew’s signature, with Italian outfit Fiorentina understood to be leading the race, and his expected high wage demands could represent a stumbling block for Rovers.

While Allardyce would prefer a striker with experience in the Premier League, the Rovers boss does have several foreign strikers also on his list as he searches for a bargain but he would be looking for the finished article.

Nils Petersen, a 21-year-old German striker, has been watched by Rovers but Allardyce is unlikely to gamble on another young and unproven player having already paid £6m for Nikola Kalinic.

Standard Liege striker Mohammed Tchite is another striker who has been linked with Rovers in the past few days but the Lancashire Telegraph understands a move for him would be unlikely.

The transfer budget available to Allardyce in January is dependent on Venky’s completing their takeover of Rovers, which is expected to be finalised in the very near future.

The Indian poultry giants look certain to be the next owners of the club and they have already pledged a figure of around £5m for Allardyce to spend in January.

Without a takeover and new investment, Allardyce would have to rely on trading once the transfer window reopens with a transfer kitty virtually non existent.

Meanwhile Jason Roberts’ Ewood Park future remains uncertain but, despite his contract running out in June, Rovers are unlikely to let him go in January without having a replacement lined up.

The former Wigan striker has fallen out with Allardyce and has grown increasingly frustrated with his lack of regular football and is expected to attract a number of potential suitors.

Rovers though would be prepared to lose the 32-year-old for nothing in the summer rather than sell the striker for a fee in January if they were unable to bring in a suitable replacement.

Zimbabwean striker Benjani has declared himself fit for Sunday’s visit of Villa but Steven Nzonzi (hamstring), Martin Olsson (calf), Vince Grella (Achilles) and Keith Andrews (groin) are all expected to remain on the sidelines.