JORDAN RHODES should this weekend become the second most expensive signing in Middlesbrough’s history after Blackburn accepted an offer of £9m for the prolific striker.

After a long running pursuit of the Scotland international, Boro are close to finally landing their man after Rovers finally caved in to the Teesside club's regular attempts to prise him away.

Rhodes was Middlesbrough's main summer target and they also tried to sign him before the emergency loan window shut last season.  

But now it appears that the 25-year-old will be heading to join the promotion push and it could give everyone at the Riverside a lift at just the right time – and both clubs are due to go head-to-head next Saturday.

Only Afonso Alves, when he moved from Heerenveen for £12.8m at this stage eight years ago, has cost Middlesbrough more, which is a further indication of how desperate chairman Steve Gibson wants to deliver Premier League football this season.

Officials at Ewood Park are claiming that the Rhodes deal could rise to £11m with add-one. Huddersfield, his former club, are entitled to a 20 per cent cut. 

Middlesbrough, who have publicly stated that they were not particularly looking for a new striker, have spent much of the transfer window trying to broker a deal for Fulham's Ross McCormack, 29.

But their interest in Rhodes has never gone away either and just last weekend, as revealed in The Northern Echo, there were strong suggestions that a deal was close with Blackburn for the forward.

Such talk died down as the week developed but now it appears that Blackburn have agreed to a deal worth around £9m for a player they actually valued at more than £12m at the start of the season.

And given Oldham-born Rhodes is four years younger than McCormack, Middlesbrough will think there is a greater potential for getting value for money as they look to return to the riches of the top-flight.

Rhodes - who left the Blackburn hotel ahead of Saturday's FA Cup tie at Oxford - has scored 82 goals in 155 appearances for Rovers and before that he made his name at Huddersfield by hitting 87 in 148 games.

McCormack had, according to reports, handed in a transfer request to try to push through a move. It would seem highly unlikely that Middlesbrough would do both deals.

However, it would be no surprise if Spanish striker Kike was now moved on. Middlesbrough had offered him as part of a McCormack deal to Fulham, but it is unclear at this stage if he will be heading to Ewood Park.