Tottenham and QPR target Chris Samba reveals he wants to quit Blackburn

Chris Samba While Blackburn struggle this season both on and off the pitch, one of the few positives at Ewood Park has been the performances of central defender Chris Samba. The Congolese has been a rock at the back for Rovers and is easily Bl (GETTY IMAGES)

Blackburn manager Steve Kean has confirmed the club have rejected two bids for Christopher Samba and reiterated that the player is not for sale.

Rovers captain Samba, 27, has been heavily linked with moves to Tottenham and QPR, while interest from Paris St Germain has also been mooted.

Speculation has increased in the past 24 hours after the French-born Congolese defender was quoted in L'Equipe saying that his current club - who are bottom of the Barclays Premier League - "doesn't evolve at all", that "things have not gone as I was told" and that he feels it is "time for a change".

Asked about the matter today, though, Kean referred to a statement released by Blackburn last Friday, which stressed that Samba was not for sale.

"I know there has been an article in L'Equipe, but I haven't seen it myself," said Kean, speaking ahead of Saturday's clash with Fulham at Ewood Park.

"All I can say is that I have been told that Chris has done an interview.

"What is definite is that there were two bids from one club which were refused.

"We put out a club statement which was quite strong, saying that Chris was not for sale and as far as I am concerned, there is a line drawn under it."

He added: "You would have to ask Chris what he thinks, in terms of whether promises have been broken in his opinion and what they were.

"All I can say is that he has been excellent when he has played, he is a big player for us and he is not long in to a very long contract, so I hope that he stays here."

Samba, who has frequently been linked with other clubs in recent seasons, has been with Blackburn since 2007 and in February signed a new contract to keep him at Rovers until 2015 - a deal Kean would like to see him "respect".

Questioned as to what he could do about the situation, Kean said: "You can ask the player to respect his contract - I don't think you make contracts for any other reason than to show your commitment to the player, and you would then like the player to show that back to the club.

"There have been situations (before) where there have been bids for Chris, and there have been a number of times when he has shown a desire to leave and it hasn't happened for whatever reason.

"I think the club has always fought to try to keep him - we want to keep our best players."

PA