Blackburn Rovers have signed Liverpool and France Under-21 striker Florent Sinama Pongolle on loan until the end of the 2005-06 season.

21-year-old Pongolle has been at Liverpool since Gerard Houllier signed him in the summer of 2003, and Blackburn boss Mark Hughes has made a shrewd loan deal for a player who would love to break into the French senior squad in time for the World Cup Finals.

His goalscoring exploits were very much in evidence as far back as May 2001, when Pongolle scored six goals en-route to the final but France lost out to Spain 1-0 in the European Under-16 Championships in England.

Pongolle really caught the eye in September 2001, as he played a major role in France winning the under-17 World Championships in Trinidad.

Sinama-Pongolle won the golden ball for the tournament's best player and the golden shoe for top goalscorer with nine goals.

He set a new tournament record with hat-tricks against the USA, Japan and a further goal in the final against Nigeria, and Liverpool are keen for 21-year-old Pongolle to gain consistent first-team experience.

Rovers boss Mark Hughes has also completed the signing of Swedish teenage defender Martin Olsson for a nominal fee from Hogaborgs BK.

In the last day of the current transfer window, Hughes also manged to secure a permanent contract with David Bentley from Arsenal for an undisclosed fee.

Bentley, 21, has been on loan at Blackburn since the beginning of the season, but has now signed a three-and-a-half-year deal to keep him at Ewood Park.

"David has done well during his loan spell and is a young player with ability and a big future in the game. Martin is another young player who impressed during a recent trial and we feel he will go on to prove a big asset for many years to come," said Hughes.

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