Blackburn Rovers manager Gary Bowyer has admitted that he is planning for life without prolific frontman Jordan Rhodes amid interest from a host of Premier League and Championship clubs.
Rhodes almost signed for promotion-chasing Middlesbrough in March on a loan deal with a view to buy, but the move was eventually blocked by Rovers' controversial owners, the Venky's.
Boro are thought to remain interested, though his price tag could deter Rovers' Championship rivals. However, Swansea City and Aston Villa have both been linked with the 25-year-old, while Hull City had a bid knocked back last summer.
Despite this, Bowyer is adamant that neither Rhodes, nor club top scorer Rudy Gestede, will be allowed to leave Ewood Park for anything less than the club's valuation of them.
“I think the owners have showed that unless their valuation is met then nobody leaves,” he stated.
“So we’re planning with them and you have to plan without them as well.
“You can’t be naïve to think that if somebody comes in with an unbelievable offer we’d be any different than any football club.
“Look at Tottenham with Gareth Bale and Liverpool with Luis Suárez. There comes a point when you can’t stop it.”
Hull's rejected bid last season was around the £10million and it is thought that it would take a similar figure to prise Rhodes away this time around.
However, Rovers' failure to mount a serious assault on the Championship play-off places despite Rhodes and Gestede's combined tally of 41 league goals could weaken the club's bargaining position.
Blackburn remain under transfer embargo
Should either of the pair be permitted to leave, Bowyer would be left in a difficult position with the club still under the effects of a transfer embargo for failing to comply with Financial Fair Play regulations.
And the 43-year-old feels that the terms of the transfer window should be altered to help clubs in similar positions.
“I think we should certainly look at closing the transfer window before the season starts,” he complained to The Lancashire Telegraph.
“It’s madness. You do all that preparation close season and pre-season, getting in who you want in, and then you can lose them three weeks into the season and then the window closes.
“It should be closed before the season starts in my opinion.”