WES BROWN is weighing up offers to prolong his playing career after leaving Sunderland.

The experienced former Manchester United defender will officially become a free agent on Friday and has already started pre-season training with Blackburn. It had been thought he would retire.

At this stage his appearance in Rovers gear is merely to stay fit although if he can impress manager Owen Coyle then he could earn a deal.

But Blackburn, who would stand a chance of landing him because it is relatively close to his Manchester roots, know they are not the only club interested in giving him a contract.

Coyle said: “Wes Brown has had such an illustrious career and is an outstanding player. The games he played last year with Sunderland in the Premier League, he was an outstanding player.

“I said to Wes come in and enjoy his pre-season and have a look at things. He has a number of offers on the table and he was in no rush.

“So I said, ‘Why don’t you come in, enjoy what you’re doing here, feel good about your game, and you and I will have a chat going forward’. It’s as simple as that.”

The 36-year-old’s five years at Sunderland have come to an end after Sam Allardyce was happy for him to leave after hardly featuring last season.

When Brown did figure he tended to perform well, but doubts surrounding his fitness always prevented him from holding down a first team place on a long term basis.

If Brown does move to Ewood Park permanently he will team up with another ex-Black Cats player in the form of striker Danny Graham.

Steven Fletcher, meanwhile, has emerged as a target for Norwich City. The Canaries are understood to be willing to offer the former Sunderland striker a £30,000-a-week pay packet to lead the line in the Championship.