From all the comments I've read, SB wants him off the payroll at Hillsborough. By insisting on £7M, none of us can see us stumping up that sort of money, so it's a case of 'who blinks first' IMO.
Without promotion, there would be no way we would pay 7m for him. Even with promotion, I think it's too much for us to spend on a back up striker. Just sounds really strange that we would have agreed to that in the first place.
Many people regard Bruce as a NCFC legend, I personally don't agree after his antics to force through a move to Man. Ure. He's certainly not showing any favours to NCFC what with this and his attempts to start a bidding war over Robbie Brady. **** him I say, leave him lumbered with someone who he's desperate to get off the wage bill!!
If Sheff Weds are genuine about wanting him off the wage bill, they'll relax those idiotic demands (for a player another year older since those terms were supposedly 'agreed' and with virtually no sell-on value any longer.) No one else will be interested at that valuation so they'll either compromise to get him off their payroll or be lumbered with him until next year when hos contract is up and he can walk away à la Naismith. We'll get him for circa £3.5m or not at all.
I'm not so sure. Rhodes has a pretty good record at championship level and his scoring rate for us will suggest to others that he still has life in him yet. Goal scorers don't come cheap and I could see him fetching £5-7 million. I think another factor is probably that with us, I think the loan feeetc is in theory part of that pricing? So they will not actually receive £7m, but the difference between the loan fee and £7m e.g. £4m. They might fancy they can screw someone else for that and more if we try and haggle too much. If Someone like Assombalonga is worth £15m with his injury record and not entirely stella scoring record then Rhodes in this footballing cash crazy world SWed might just get it. Or closer to it than we're offering when e.g. Leeds go looking for the goal scorer that will convert them from also ran to promoted. Bah!
I feel we need to go with our head, not our hearts, on this one. Rhodes was part of our incredible upturn and we love him for his anti-Ipswich jokes with the Snakepit etc, but we KNOW he isn't Premier League level. Even as back up, is he going to challenge Pukki, or even step up at that level if/when Pukki has a few games out? I'm not so sure?! If Rhodes is going to be 3rd choice, id say £2m max and ditch Srbeny. Our 2nd choice simply has to be better. Someone who will not only be decent back up to Pukki, but actually challenge him for top spot.
I think Rhodes can do a good job in the PL. Our original plan was for Rhodes to start up front and Pukki to play behind him or as backup, but Pukki surprised us all. The situation for us has changed now and we are now looking to sign a backup at the end of his career. Rhodes is 29 and if we sign him on a 3 year contract, he'll have little career left after that. Even if he signed for Leeds, he'd be behind Roofe in the pecking order. SB has to face up to that.
I see what your saying, but it sounds like a "right of first refusal" or a "buy now" price. If JR had been our first choice striker all season and we won the league, then the price doesn't look too bad. On the other hand, nobody expected us to get promotion so, yeah, £7mil sounds pretty high. The General has an interesting take on it: At a price of, say, £4-5mil, Webber would have have to think about it ie. is that the best use of our transfer funds?
RER already quoted this in the Ins, Outs, Rumours & Tosh. Summer 2019 thread but I thought it should be here, too. https://www.pinkun.com/norwich-city/norwich-city-chief-admits-rhodes-return-is-unlikely-1-6081461
The Wendies are weakening: "The Sheffield Star understand Rhodes does not figure in the plans of Wednesday chief Steve Bruce, who will listen to offers for the Scottish international. Rhodes has one year left on his existing Hillsborough contract - according to transfermarkt.co.uk - but there have been no firm moves from Norwich City to bring the striker back to the Canaries. City sporting director Stuart Webber made it clear earlier this summer the Owls' valuation of the experienced striker and the total financial package made a return unlikely." Perhaps now there's more flexibility a deal can be done.
I'm not sure I want to know about your 'weird add-ons' China. Add-ons might be the key to the deal though as our survival would be worth a lot of money. Even at £2m the deal would be worth twice that to them because of his wages.
Looks like we are playing the waiting game with Wednesday. I believe he will sign before the season starts.
Or you're not utilising him properly. If a player is under utilised on the pitch maybe part of that is the way the teams been setup & run I wouldn't necessarily blame the player outright.