EFL Championship side Blackburn Rovers have secured the signature of Sierra Leone international Augustus Kargbo on a permanent deal.

The 25-year-old forward joined from Italian side Cesena on a two-and-a-half-year contract through to June 2027, for an undisclosed fee. Kargbo became Rovers’ third signing of the January transfer window following the arrivals of midfielder Adam Forshaw from Plymouth Argyle and the loan signing of Dion Sanderson from Birmingham City.

A long-term target for the club, Rovers’ new recruit started his professional career in Italy with Campobasso, where he scored six goals in 20 Serie D appearances, before joining Serie B side Crotone in the summer of 2018.

He had a loan spell back in Serie D with Roccella and also made his debut for Crotone in his first season with the south-coast club.

In 2019-20, he made a loan move to Reggiana, who he fired to promotion to Serie B, scoring 11 goals in 24 games, including the winner against Bari in the Serie C play-off final. His parent club secured promotion to the top tier of Italian football in the same season.

The explosive and energetic forward made his Serie A debut at the start of the 2020-21 campaign, before returning to Reggiana on loan.

After establishing himself in the Crotone side over the next two seasons, Kargbo joined Cesena in August 2023 and enjoyed a dream debut season with the club, scoring nine goals in 31 games to help fire Cesena to the Serie C title.

The Sierra Leone international, who has five goals in 21 caps for his country, has continued to find the back of the net for Cesena this season and he will now look to do the same in Rovers’ colours.