It is hard to believe that the club will allow the transfer window to slam shut without bringing in the necessary striker reinforcements. Our current situation, pertaining to the club’s salary cap, is well documented and discussed on WHTID. It is a situation that should never have arisen, but it has. So, now we need to find a way out of the impasse. The objective is to off load two or three squad players and bring in at least one striker. And a solution could be to tie up a part-exchange deal.
Now, I doubt Henderson, Taylor, Vaz Te or McCartney will generate much interest in Turin or Lisbon, but they might in Blackburn! In these circumstances, drastic action is called for to find a suitable solution. Jordan Rhodes is probably the best goal scoring prospect outside the Premier League. He has a fanastic goal scoring record and, at 23 years of age, time for further development of his game. He is a full Scotland international and it is indicative of the direction of travel of English football that he has not yet been given a opportunity by a top tier club. Perhaps West Ham Utd should give Rhodes that opportunity?
To do that, we need to convince Blackburn Rovers to part with their prize asset. It will take money, a combined deal equivalent to at least £8m or above, and possibly the enticement of offering two or three experienced players in part-exchange. Sometimes clubs need to sacrifice a prize asset to strengthen their squad in other positions and bring in vital extra experience. In fact, we did much the same in the 1990s, when we sold Julian Dicks to Liverpool and took cash, plus David Burrows and Mike Marsh in part-exchange. And that bit of sharp business certainly paid dividends for us that season, it transformed us from relegation favourites and secured two players who were instrumental in ensuring a comfortable PL finish. While, more recently, we took Bobby Zamora from Spurs in part-exchange for Jermaine Defoe. That did not prove to be such a bad deal either, did it! Blackburn Rovers could see the value of transacting a similar sort of deal?
The real beauty of a part-exchange deal, in our current situation, is that it effectively ‘kills three birds with one stone.’ It would secure a new striker, move on some fringe squad players and generate some room for manoeuvre in the salary budget. Offering Vaz Te could be a deal clincher, because he is a tried and proven goal scorer at Championship level. Add in the experience of Matt Taylor and/or George McCartney as well, plus c.£5m, and arguably it looks a good package for the Championship club. Of course, there may be difficulties getting our fringe players to move or Blackburn Rovers may just prefer to keep Jordan Rhodes. But there is an old saying, which is: ‘if you do not ask, you do not get’ and that is certainly the case here.
As Iain has pointed out, Sam Allardyce has made recent public statements which seem to rule out the possibility of bringing in another striker. And that could, indeed, either be Allardyce turning up the heat on the co-owners to deliver or a straightforward statement of the probable outcome of the present state of financial affairs. Who knows? But what is certain is that the club would be taking a significant risk in not strengthening their strike force. I am sure that the club are pursuing all possible options to get surplus players out and the right players in. All this blog does is float the idea that we could try to tie it all up in one major deal that secures a promising British talent like Jordan Rhodes. It could very well prove to be one of the deals of the season.
As I stated previously, the ‘end game’ of this transfer window could very well be tense for us. All we can hope is that, through this or some other route, the club capture the signing(s) that will give us a greater cutting edge in attack. Sam Allardyce, David Sullivan and David Gold all know that further transfer business is necessary. So, lets hope that they collectively ensure that it happens. The degree of success that we achieve this season could very well hang upon it!
SJ. Chandos.