Jordan Rhodes move to Swansea complicated

Blackburn striker Jordan Rhodes is being linked with a move to Premier League Swansea City

According to the Daily Telegraph and other various British tabloids, Swansea are interested in signing Blackburn striker Jordan Rhodes in January.

It seems like any deal would be a complicated one with many factors coming into it.

Fee

One of those factors would be the fee for the 24-year-old, who joined Rovers in 2012 from Huddersfield for around £8million.

It seems many clubs have been interested in signing the Scotland international in recent seasons, but Rovers are unlikely to sell one of their star players on the cheap.

A fee of around £11million has been mooted, but it seems that Blackburn would probably hold out for more money considering they would have to replace his goals and expect to make a big profit on the striker.

Teammate

Rovers striker Rudy Gestede has been linked with moves to Premier League Hull and Crystal Palace in January.

Hull have seemingly withdrew from the race for the French-born striker and Palace are reportedly unwilling to pay £6million for the Benin international, who has scored 12 goals in 23 Championship appearances this season.

If the striker does move in January it is unlikely that Rovers would be prepared to also let Rhodes leave the club and leave them short in attack. It seems Gestede is determined to make the move to a Premier League club in January.

Strikers

It has been a story of striker’s incoming, outgoing and potentially outgoing. Portuguese striker Nelson Oliveira arrived on-loan from Benfica. Ivory Coast striker Wilfried Bony sealed a move to Premier League champions Manchester City for a fee in the region of £28million.

Bony will likely be difficult to replace and French striker Bafetimbi Gomis is expected to fill the former-Vitesse striker’s boots. However, the 29-year-old is now himself being linked with a move away, despite only arriving on a free transfer in the summer.

Gomis is believed to be unsettled in Wales, but the Swans want to keep the striker because they are now short of forward options. There is also the slight issue of a pay-off of around £8million that Gomis would receive if he left.

Crystal Palace are interested in signing the striker, but the Swans would have to demand a fee of over £8million to not be out of pocket, not to mention Gomis is the now the clubs first choice striker.

Goals

Jordan Rhodes is without doubt a natural born goalscorer. Rhodes has scored 62 goals in 122 appearances for Rovers since his arrival. Prior to his move to Blackburn, Rhodes had scored 73 times in 124 Championship games for Huddersfield.

His scoring record in Yorkshire attracted the interest of a number of top-flight clubs, but none were willing to put their money where their mouths were and spend £8million on the striker. Blackburn did take the gamble in an effort to get back up to the Premier League.

However, Rovers have struggled to challenge for promotion in the past few seasons and despite Rhodes remaining relativity consistent have not threatened a return to the top-flight.

Gamble

Premier League clubs seemed to have doubts about Rhodes ability to score goals at the highest level, as he has never had the chance to play in the Premier League. The 24-year-old is still young enough to be a success in the top-flight and is just waiting for the chance.

For a team to pay around £11million for the striker would be a gamble for a lot of teams in the Premier League, especially such a financial stable club as Swansea.

However, it is catch-22, as Rhodes does look capable of scoring goals in any league and will not be able to prove himself at the top level without somebody taking a chance on him.

Players have done it in the past, the most recent QPR’s Charlie Austin, who was previously prolific in the lower leagues and has found the net 13 times in the Premier League this season.

Summer

With all these factors taken into account the Swans may well wait until the summer to attempt to sign Rhodes, if indeed he is their primary striking target. The Swans took a gamble in signing Bony, who was unproven in the Premier League, though he was prolific in the lesser standard Eredivisie.

For Rhodes he needs to make a move to the Premier League sooner rather than later if questions about his ability to step up a level are to end.

Would Jordan Rhodes be a good signing for Swansea?