 BLACKBURN chairman John Williams insists it is only natural Craig Bellamy is being linked with a return to the club. The Wales captain appears to have fallen out of favour after less than a year at Liverpool, who he joined last summer when the Reds triggered a £6million release clause in his Rovers contract. Bellamy, 28 next month, was a huge success at Ewood Park, scoring 17 goals in the 2005-06 season. While refusing to reveal whether the striker is on manager Mark Hughes’ shopping list, Williams said: “I’ve no idea if Liverpool want to sell him. “His name is on everyone’s lips because he did very well here.” He added: “It’s an open secret we would like another striker at the club.” Williams accepts a quality top-forward will command a hefty transfer fee. “Strikers don’t usually come cheap,” he said. “It’s unlikely we’re going to find a 20-goal-a-season man for £500,000. “Will we find a striker? I think we will. Obviously, there are names in the frame.” Exactly how much Hughes has to spend could depend on whether the club are able to offload Francis Jeffers. The former Everton and Arsenal striker spent the final two months of the season on loan at Ipswich, who have had two bids - the latest believed to be £500,000 - rejected for the once-capped 26-year-old. Williams said: “Mark has said, on balance, we would be prepared to sell Francis, providing certain things happened in our line-up. “He probably isn’t first choice and that makes Mark come to the view that if we receive the right offer, we wouldn’t want to stand in his way. “To be fair to Ipswich, they’ve done it properly. They made us an offer - we rejected it. “They’ve made an improved offer and we’ve rejected that, and that’s where we stand.” | 
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