Hughes To Get Fortune?

Mark Hughes will decide in the next few days whether to sign free agent utility man Quinton Fortune.

The former South African captain has been training with Blackburn Rovers for the past week during the club's mid-season break to Orlando linking up with friends Benni McCarthy and Aaron Mokoena.

And, because he is currently a free agent, he would be able to join up with Rovers immediately, should Hughes decide to offer him a short-term deal.

Rovers chairman John Williams confirmed that Fortune had been part of the group who travelled to America.

The 30-year-old has been out of the game since being released by Bolton last summer, with his time spent mainly back in his homeland and a spell with Western Province United, a club he helped found in 1998 as 'FC Fortune'.

But a recent trial at the Stadium of Light ended with his former United team-mate Roy Keane deciding against offering him a deal with the Black Cats.

Keane said: 'Quinton is a great lad but, in the position we are in, I think it would be unfair to bring in a player who hasn't played for six, seven or eight months.

'We did that with Andy Cole and Ian Harte earlier in the season, but at this stage of the campaign anyone we bring in needs to be able to hit the ground running.

'I think Quinton might now spend some time with Blackburn and we wish him well.'

Rovers didn't replace Robbie Savage in the January transfer window, have recently been struggling with injury and the fact that Fortune can be deployed in several different positions, could persuade Hughes to give him a deal at Ewood Park.