AITOR KARANKA has put a host of top Championship clubs on alert after confirming for the first time that Jordan Rhodes can leave Middlesbrough.

Boro's head coach has ended months of speculation over the future of the out of favour Scotland international by revealing the 26-year-old is free to move on after less than a year - as long as the price is right.

Aston Villa and Sheffield Wednesday are set to battle it out for the prolific forward, who is ready to accept the chance to rebuild his reputation away from Teesside after suffering the first major setback of his career in the shape of what has been a very public snub delivered by Karanka.

Middlesbrough, who will listen to offers which at least match the £9m they paid Blackburn Rovers at the start of the year, will use money from the sale of Rhodes to fund any January acquisitions, after the Spaniard refused to rule out in-coming transfer business next month.

He said: "Jordan a player in this squad but if he wants to leave, if we receive the right offer from a club that wants to buy him, and we are happy with the deal, then fine. But if he wants to stay here, he's part of the squad and I'm happy. The market will see and always, once again, three parts have to be involved."

Despite the significant outlay on a player who scored an impressive 176 goals in 287 appearances over six-and-a-half years for Huddersfield Town and Rovers, Rhodes has never seemed a comfortable fit within Karanka's regime amidst continued suggestions the head coach was never overly sold on the former Ipswich Town trainee.

He started 13 of 19 games in the final four months of last season, but, significantly, was left on the bench for the campaign-defining final day draw with Brighton in May which sealed the club's return to the Premier League after seven years.

Interest in his services this summer failed to materialise into anything concrete, and he has had little opportunity in the top flight. He has started only once, in the draw at West Ham in October, in addition to a combined 37 minutes off the bench, while he has not even made it into the matchday squad for some away games. The most recent of his six goals for the club arrived in the 2-2 draw at Birmingham in April.

The St Andrew's club are also keen on Rhodes, but lack the finances to broker anything other than a loan deal, something on which Boro are not keen. Championship promotion hopefuls Villa and Wednesday are among only a handful of clubs outside the top flight able to match the £40,000-a-week wages Rhodes currently receives, and both have the financial clout to table offers in excess of £10m should the bidding reach those levels for a player with a proven track record in the second tier.

Karanka has learned the 'never say never' approach after last January, when after predicting a quiet window, Middlesbrough were involved in half a dozen deals in a hectic first month to the year. Rhodes' imminent departure would give Boro room to bring in additions, with £6m-rated Hull City centre-back Harry Maguire among those linked with a move to Teesside.

"He's a player I like, but he's at Hull right now and I have 26 players here and I prefer to focus on them," added Karanka, who played down suggestions that defender Bernardo Espinosa is set to return to Spain on loan. He added: "Of course, I'm involved in the work of the recruitment department and that will become even more intense in January because now they know the players who I want to bring in and the players who maybe want to leave.

"Last January I didn't expect to move many players but in the end we changed around six or seven. As a coach, maybe players who you think are happy want to leave but the fact is I don't want to make a lot of changes next month, though the market will dictate a lot what happens."

Monday's televised visit by Hull City, who are just a point behind Boro in the battle for Premier League survival, will come too soon for George Friend, but the influential defender is making encouraging progress after missing the last two games with a knee problem. The 29-year-old is expected to return before Christmas, and Karanka added: "George is doing really well with his rehab, and he will be back with us in one or two weeks."