THE gears in Wanderers’ transfer business may be about to start grinding again in the final week before players return to Euxton for pre-season testing.

Reports yesterday claimed Blackburn Rovers are preparing an offer to sign Whites defender Alex Baptiste, having given up on Crystal Palace’s Jack Hunt and Leeds United’s Lee Peltier.

The former Blackpool defender lost his place under Dougie Freedman at the end of last season after making some high-profile errors and rumours have persisted all summer that he is looking to leave the club.

Blackburn have been actively searching for a right-back, while sources at Ewood Park say that manager Gary Bowyer also wants a versatile player who can cover across the back four.

Should an approach materialise, Wanderers would almost certainly have to recruit a replacement before the start of the season. It could even open a spot for Peltier – highly rated by Freedman – who is also thought to be a target for Nottingham Forest.

Peltier is understood to want to leave Leeds on a free transfer but has been unable to negotiate his way out of the remaining 12 months of his contract while the managerial situation has been vacant.

The future of two other Wanderers stars is in equal doubt, with Marvin Sordell being chased by Burnley and Keith Andrews targeted by Huddersfield Town.

Freedman welcomes his players back in small groups at the end of this week for fitness and health monitoring but wants the majority of his business done by the time he flies for the first warm-up game against Brondby on July 10 in Copenhagen.

A striker remains the priority but there has been no indication the Whites have matched Derby County’s offer of £1million for Middlesbrough’s Lukas Jutkiewicz.