Town are one of four clubs in the hunt for Swindon striker Charlie Austin. Blackpool, Burnley and Southampton are understood to be the other sides interested in the 21-year-old, who looks set to leave the County Ground before the weekend.

According to the local Swindon press, Blackpool, Burnley and Southampton have lodged bids while an unnamed Championship club, understood to be the Blues, are also said to have made their interest known.

Austin is not expected to train with the Robins today with Swindon director Jeremy Wray anticipating the completion of a deal soon: “It could come to a conclusion in the next 24 hours. We will hold out for the best bid for Swindon Town and for Charlie Austin.”

The Blues were previously linked with the £2 million-rated frontman in December 2009 soon after the former bricklayer’s emergence from non-league.

Austin was with Reading’s youth set-up as a schoolboy but dropped out of the professional game, playing with Thatcham Town and hometown side Hungerford Town before joining Wessex League Premier Division club Poole Town in 2008/09.

The 6ft 2in tall striker scored a hugely impressive 46 goals in 46 starts and two sub appearances as the Dolphins won their league by 17 points and also picked up the Dorset Senior Cup.

In the summer of 2009, Austin spent time training with Bournemouth but was unable to join the League Two side due to their transfer embargo. Instead, he signed for Swindon until the end of the 2009/10 season for an undisclosed fee in early October, having already netted 18 goals in 11 appearances for Poole, who remained in the same division despite winning the previous season’s championship.

Austin, who subsequently extended his contract until 2012, netted a further 20 goals for Swindon in his first season in professional football, helping them into the League One play-off final where they were beaten by Millwall.

This season he has continued in a similar vein, scoring 17 times and taking his overall record with Swindon to 58 starts, seven sub appearances and 37 goals.

Town boss Paul Jewell has hinted that he might look to sign a striker during the transfer window with Rory Fallon having been returned to Plymouth a week before his loan was due to expire.

Photo: Action Images

Paul_Jewell_Manager added 11:11 - Jan 27 we should be in the hunt for nolito from barcelona. hes expressed a desire to move to the championship on loan, is 24 years old and is a handy player to have round the club. this is the quality we should be gunning for. don't see how austin would be a triumph.
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ClassyIpswichLass added 11:12 - Jan 27 Nice one Lugg. Would be good to see Austin alongside Lee (Aston) Martin. Bollard in the middle too. Is Bentley going cheap too?
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BrettenhamBlue added 11:18 - Jan 27 We could always bring in Royce and Benz with Carrera as our new fullback.....
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ldnj added 11:25 - Jan 27 dreblue - Could always resign Rhodes !Presumably there was a sell-on so makes buying him cheaper for ITFC than any other club ...
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ClassyIpswichLass added 11:33 - Jan 27 @Paul_Jewell_Manager Nolito isn't the only Barca player to have expressed a desire to play in the Championship. I was playing Twister with Xavi and Iniesta on Monday night. They said: "Deseamos jugar en el Championship en Inglaterra porque es probablemente la categoria más competetiva del mundo" and Danoi Alves sent me a text to my mobile: "¿ Es verdad que el Ipswich de Paul Jewell busca un lateral de la derecha?" (which means he want's to know id Ipswich are looking for a right back)

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casanovacrow added 11:40 - Jan 27 Austin will be a future town legend
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suffolkpoker added 11:42 - Jan 27 WOW, this would be one of the best signing for a long time. I love its not some journeymen who is warming a mid tabled premiership bench. Austin, is the right type of player we need.. young, hungry and a great goal scoring record!!
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itfc1981 added 12:05 - Jan 27 Bloody hell! wahooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
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Back_The_Boss added 14:02 - Jan 27 Looks like the rumours could well be true, makes a change eh!
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Upbeat~ added 15:38 - Jan 27 Rhodes still is a promising young player doing very well in league one) but we made the decision to sell one of our young strikers and Rhodes was the obvious one to leave - nowhere near as bright a future as Wickham and Connor hasn't exactly been walking into our starting 11 this season. There's a reason why many bids have come in for Austin and none for Rhodes. Anyone who's seen Austin play will know he's a more complete player. Better finisher, stronger, more powerful, better range of passing, taller and faster. Rhodes is a good player and it was a shame to see him go. However, he's not yet championship quality imo and his potential is to be a decent championship player. Austin however has the build and more complete game to be a real handful in this league. He's the prized striker of league one and it will be fantastic to have him on board. COYB

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