Middlesbrough have reportedly pulled the plug on a deal to sign Blackburn Rovers striker Jordan Rhodes.
It is believed that the two Championship clubs agreed a fee in the region of £9m plus add-ons for the Scotland international, who spent yesterday undergoing a medical at Boro's Rockcliffe Hill training ground.
However, according to Gazette Live, Boro chairman Steve Gibson has now decided that with wages and bonuses factored in, the transfer was too expensive for him to sanction.
The report adds that the figures being demanded by Rhodes's representatives would have seen the Teesiders invest a figure heading towards a total of £30m over the course of a four-and-half-year deal.
Following the suggestion that talks have broken down, Sky Sports News presenter Jim White tweeted that Rhodes had told him he was "baffled and disappointed".
It is now expected that the 25-year-old will return to Blackburn, who face Boro next weekend.
Liam Apicella
