BLACKBURN Rovers boss Gary Bowyer admits he will have to make a swift decision over free agent Danny Guthrie.

Former Liverpool and Newcastle United midfielder Guthrie was a surprise inclusion in Bowyer’s squad for Tuesday’s 1-1 draw at Bury.

The 28-year-old came on as a half-time substitute after meeting up with his Rovers team-mates less than four hours before kick-off.

And Guthrie impressed Bowyer, who said: “He only met us at 4pm but, listen, when you’ve got the talent that Danny’s got, it doesn’t matter who you play with or where you play.

“He could go and play on a park pitch and still produce the same level of performance he showed for us.

“He’s a fantastic footballer with a great range of passing. He’s played in the Premiership but he had a bit of bad luck with injuries last year.

“We spoke to him yesterday, he seems a very good lad, and we’ll see where it goes, because he certainly gave us something when he came on.”

Guthrie is searching for a new club after his release from Championship rivals Reading in May.

The former England U16s international, a key member of the Newcastle side which won promotion to the Premier League in 2010, will now spend time training at Rovers’ Brockhall base.

But Bowyer, who can offer free transfers and loan signings a maximum of £10,000 per week, added: “We can’t have too long a look because the season starts in less than 10 days now.

“But obviously we’ve got to measure people’s fitness and then there’s the situation of contracts and where we can and can’t operate.”

Guthrie was one of two trialists on show for Rovers at Gigg Lane on Tuesday.

The other, striker Nathan Delfouneso, had two chances to make it two goals in two games after his strike in Saturday’s 2-0 win at Oldham Athletic.

And Bowyer, who was without wantaway frontmen Jordan Rhodes and Rudy Gestede, said: “I thought Nathan showed up ever so well for us.

“He’s going to stay with us a little bit longer and we’ll go from there.”