Rhodes is a finisher, penalty box predator type of striker. I've always heard him described as the type of player who will contribute nothing to the build up, then suddenly find himself in acres of space from which to score. From what I've heard of Pukki it seems his game is more rounded, but I can see Rhodes as being competition/cover for Pukki. I think they fit into the same system.
Really not too excited about Rhodes but if the fee is affordable and we can dump him after a season if it doesn't work out ,or sign him permanently if he succeeds then it's not too risky .
That was my thinking about Plan B DH. It's clear that Oliveira dislikes DF's style of play, but Rhodes is obviously signing up to it if he comes so it could work. He also knows the Championship well, so shouldn't need much adjustment, which Pukki will of course. DF might see Rhodes as a better option against packed defences. He's a better header than Pukki and has the ability to poach goals out of nothing. Both are 28, so rotation would make sense to keep them fresh. A year long loan bears little risk and could just make all of the difference. I'm willing to trust the judgement of SW and DF on this. Edit: It also makes sense financially. SW want as much as they can get for a loan, but if we walk away they're stuck with his £2m+ wages as they face up to Financial Fair Play soon. A loan fee of £1m and paying his wages in full would seem reasonable in our current financial situation. We just don't have the money for Marriott, even if he was seen to fit our style of play this season.
I know its; ifs buts and maybes, but....If we sell Oliveira as seems probable, maybe get £4-5m for him. Get him off the wage bill, save £1m plus high wages for Rhodes. Why is it that Marriot is beyond our reach? He would be coming from Peterborough, so an increase to the top of our wage scale is likely to be a decent pay rise and would have to be tempting for him. And surely Peterborough would take ~£6m and if not chuck in some add ons. 20+ goals £250k, playoffs, £250K and promotion £500k and/or a sell on clause. I thought we wanted to buy players who are the right age with prospects of value growth? It seems that no one is actually lodging any bids for him, I think like with Rhodes, that first figure is bluster, final sale/loan figures will be significantly lower. Bah!
My guess would be that we haven't had any offers for Oliveira and SW and DF don't want to wait for an if scenario. The other possibility might be they're not sure Marriott has the 'technical skills' to fit our style of play. Another possibility is that they want more of a contrast to Pukki as mentioned above, but I can't see both Rhodes and Marriott coming in.
I don't think we'll get £4m for Oliveira. 20 goals in 70 appearances for us isn't going to generate much interest, his wages, and his attitude problem combine to make him relatively difficult to sell. I don't think he'll be top of anybody's shopping lists, so we may have to wait until later in the window for teams to look to their plan C or D. I don't think Marriott is out of reach, but my fear is if we were to agree a deal, their chairman would tweet the details before it was concluded, and before we know it we've been blown out of the water by another team. Obviously we'll never know until we try, but my suspicion is that he'd be at the top end of what we can afford, and other teams will be prepared to go higher once a bidding war begins in earnest. For what it's worth, I don't think Rhodes is our preferred option. I think we're thrashing a deal out, but it won't go ahead until we shift Oliveira and can't land any other targets. I don't think we can afford to have Pukki, Rhodes, Oliveira, Srbeny and Morris on our books. Farke has been quoted in the EDP today that the bulk of our dealings our done, and it means we don't need to go chasing the wrong deal. I think we're prepared to play a waiting game for now and not push deals over the line unnecessarily.
Meanwhile, Naismith's departure has been confirmed by the club. That's surely the last we'll see of him in a City shirt.
According to a web blog called Media Referee,"signing this 21 year old" ( Palmer, I presume ) would be a "dexterous move from Norwich City ". Some people should not be allowed to use the English language.
I really don’t want Rhodes! Happy to support him if he comes but I really think he will frustrate a lot of people.
I know we’ve spoken about him before and the potential for him to fall back to his old ways but my choice for this system would be someone like Chris Martin
The only possible benefit I can see of Rhodes coming to us is if it hasten's Oliveria's departure. Although we might be replacing one player with an attitude problem with another.
It would be a gamble certainly, but a reasonable one given the experience he's had and the short-term duration of the loan. Marriott would be a far more expensive option on a probable 4 year contract. If he didn't fit and struggled for goals, we really would be screwed. The signing of Pukki makes a gamble on Rhodes less risky. We still have no guarantee that Oliveira is leaving but it would appear that we can afford the Rhodes loan even if he doesn't.
I’d honestly rather have Oliveira to be honest, if he could put his ego aside and come back his season with a better attitude he would provide much more to the team as a unit.
Re Naismith. Surely we could have negotiated some sort of 'agreement' to cancel his contract? https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman....ed-offers-in-england-to-join-hearts-1-4765470
