Blackburn face a fight if they are going to keep hold of striker Jordan Rhodes with Middlesbrough and Sheffield Wednesday both reportedly expressing an interest in the front man.

The Scotland international has scored 72 goals in 134 league appearances for Rovers and his consistent form in front of goal has seen him linked with a move away from Ewood Park.

The Lancashire team have been able to resist selling their prize asset in the past, but with ongoing financial troubles the club may well choose to sell the forward, who they purchased from Huddersfield in 2012.

The Blue and Whites are believed to be willing to sell Rhodes for £10million and that has put their Championship rivals Boro and Wednesday on red alert as they bid to add more firepower to their own promotion charge.

Aitor Karanka’s side lost in the play-off final to Norwich last season but have already invested heavily as they bid to go one better in the upcoming campaign.

England international Stewart Downing has returned to the Riverside Stadium alongside defender Alex Baptiste, who has joined from Bolton, and it now appears that the north east club have turned their attention to adding more goals to their squad.

The Owls are also keen to mount a promotion charge having not played in the top flight since the turn of the century and they now have financial backing from their new owner Dejphon Chansiri.

Should Rovers be forced to sell Rhodes then he will become the tenth first-team player to leave the club this summer, with no new recruits having joined Gary Bowyer’s side.

Blackburn are on offer at 8.00 to be relegated to the third tier of English football for the first time since 1980 come the end of the upcoming campaign and they may well face a season of struggle if they cannot add to their squad in the coming weeks.