Villa are thought to be keen on the out-of-favour Boro striker.
Aston Villa may be forced to abandon their pursuit of Middlesbrough striker Jordan Rhodes as the Teesside club are looking to recoup the £10 million they paid for the striker a year ago as an absolute minimum, according to a report from the Mirror.
Villa are thought o be one of several clubs interested in offering Rhodes an escape route from Boro this month.
The Scotland international, who set the Championship alight with Blackburn Rovers by hitting 83 goals in 159 appearances, has struggle desperately at the Riverside and has made just two Premier League starts this term.
With Villa’s runaway top scorer and leading man Jonathan Kodjia absent for the next few weeks due to his involvement at the African Cup of Nations, Steve Bruce is thought to be keen to add to his attacking options.
Those options have been thinned even further by the sale of Rudy Gestede to Boro this week, with Villa recouping the £6 million they paid for Rhodes’s former Rovers striker partner.
However, it appears as though the Riverside club, having been forced to shell out Villa’s valuation for Gestede, will hold Villa to the same terms with Rhodes.
The Mirror reports that Villa had asked about a potential loan move for the 26-year-old but that suggestion was flat out rejected by the Premier League side.
Instead, Boro want to at least get back the eight-figure sum they paid for Rhodes less than 12 months ago.
The Mirror suggests that Villa owner Tony Xia is reluctant to part with that much after spending around £25 million on Kodjia and Ross McCormack in the summer, and Boro’s valuation could ultimately scupper any hopes of a deal.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
