West Ham face difficulty tempting Huddersfield to sell Rhodes

Lee Clark knows Jordan Rhodes is irreplaceable as Huddersfield challenge for promotion

Sam Allardyce was quick to point to a lack of composure in front of goal for West Ham’s FA Cup exit at Sheffield Wednesday and this may make him even more determined to sign Jordan Rhodes from Huddersfield.

Despite having four recognised strikers at his disposal and sitting joint-top of the Championship, Allardyce still feels the club need an out-and-out scorer to ensure their Premier League return.

West Ham have failed to score more than once in their last seven games and on the whole have been dropping too many points at home to be assured of promotion.

But Rhodes is almost certainly one striker who could improve their scoring troubles.

His latest effort of five goals in Huddersfield’s rampant League One success over Wycombe took his present haul to 23 goals in his last 14 club games and this has understandably generated interest in his availability.

West Ham are at the front of the queue and they have reportedly already had an offer of £4m turned down, but this bid is expected to be improved.

Huddersfield manager Lee Clark insists that his star asset is not for sale, but is in a major quandary about what is the best decision to make.

Rhodes would be irreplaceable to Huddersfield regardless of the transfer sum received, as it would be virtually impossible to find a replacement capable of matching his scoring exploits who would be interested in a move to League One.

However, if a team were to offer £6m+ for Rhodes, this could enable Clark to bring in six or more players who were enhance the quality of his squad.

The one big dilemma is that Huddersfield are only in the play-off places even with Rhodes’ goals and so it would be even tougher to secure automatic promotion without them, meaning that the end of the season would be Clark’s favoured time to sell.

This price tag may seem extortionate for a player who is unproven outside of League One, but other strikers in the past strong at this level have continued to strike regularly in a higher division.

Grant Holt is perhaps the best example at Norwich, while Robert Earnshaw, Jason Scotland and Rickie Lambert have also taken the Championship in their stride.

If Allardyce can justify a hefty outlay on Rhodes and offer enough to ensure Clark reluctantly accept the bid, West Ham’s odds of 11/10 to win the Championship could prove great value.

Championship odds, Huddersfield odds, Jordan Rhodes odds, West Ham odds

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