Grella endured a difficult Rovers debut last week but Emerton is absolutely delighted that his international colleague is now a club teammate.

Emerton told the Blackburn Citizen: "Vince is a fantastic player, I’ve played with him since I was quite young.

“He’s more of a defensive minded midfielder but he’s going to be another great asset to this team.

“He doesn’t necessarily get beyond the ball, but what he does, he does very well.

“We need those types of players within this team as well as our attacking flair, and I think he’ll fit in well.”

Emerton knows all about Grella but he is just as impressed with Blackburn's other new recruits, especially Chilean Carlos Villanueva.

He said: “It’s there for all to see that he’s got a lot of quality and he’s going to be a major asset to this team once he settles in.

"As far as Carlos is concerned I’m convinced from what I’ve seen in training and on Wednesday that he’ll do well in the Premiership."