SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY boss Carlos Carvalhal has been told he can break his club’s transfer record in order to sign Jordan Rhodes.

Wednesday officials are preparing an £8m offer for the out-of-favour Middlesbrough striker, with the deal potentially rising to £10m if the Hillsborough club win promotion to the Premier League.

Boro head coach Aitor Karanka has deemed Rhodes surplus to requirements, but owner Steve Gibson and chief executive Neil Bausor had been hoping to recoup almost all of the £13m they shelled out to sign the striker from Blackburn.

Given Rhodes’ lack of involvement this season, however, they could be willing to accept Wednesday’s offer.

Aston Villa also tabled a £10m offer last week, but they were only willing to pay £6m up front, with almost half of their total fee being dependent on promotion. That bid was turned down, and Steve Bruce has conceded defeat in his attempts to sign Rhodes, whose father, Andy, is a goalkeeping coach at Sheffield Wednesday.

Boro are also set to lose Gaston Ramirez this month, with the want-away South American still a target for Leicester City.

Ramirez will not be allowed to leave without a replacement in place, and Boro continue to monitor a number of attacking-midfield targets.

Bojan Krkic remains their preferred option, but Stoke have so far proved unwilling to reduce their £12m valuation of the former Barcelona trainee.

Robert Snodgrass remains a leading alternative, and Hull will be more willing to sell the Scotsman now they have completed a season-long loan for Liverpool midfielder Lazar Markovic.

Markovic’s move to the KCOM Stadium increases the likelihood of Snodgrass moving on this month, although Boro will face strong competition from West Ham if they attempt to engineer a deal.

Snodgrass was not involved in Hull’s weekend defeat at Chelsea, with Boro having had a £6m offer, which could potentially have risen to £8m, rejected last week.