After almost seven years in Scotland with Hibernian and Celtic, Irish international Anthony Stokes has returned to England to join Championship side Blackburn Rovers.

The 27-year-old striker did not have his contract renewed at Celtic and spent the second-half of the season with Championship side Hibernian. The Dubliner wrote his name into the club's history after scoring twice in the Scottish Cup Final win over Rangers. It was the Edinburgh club's first win of the competition in 114 years.

Stokes revealed he had plenty of offers after becoming a free agent, and told Blackburn's website that manager Owen Coyle was the main reason he decided to move to Ewood Park.

Rovers complete Stokes swoophttps://t.co/MZYm4VoLkD

— Blackburn Rovers (@Rovers) June 17, 2016

“I met him the other day – I’ve come across him once or twice before but without ever really having a good opportunity to speak to him – and everything he said really sat very well with me and it was very positive."

“For myself, having a manager that believes in me gives me a lot of confidence and as a striker you need that, but it’s going to be down to how I perform. So I’ll need to put in the hard work, try to get a good pre-season under my belt and really kick on this season."

Stokes has played nine times for Ireland, with his last appearance coming against the United States in an Autumn friendly in 2014. He has yet to score for the team.