Bromby credentials facing Cole test

Sheffield Wednesday's promising young defender, Leigh Bromby, is planning to follow the example set by his hero Rio Ferdinand in a quest to shackle Blackburn Rovers' £8m man Andy Cole in the Worthington Cup semi-final first leg at Hillsborough tonight.

Bromby has been tracked by several big clubs this season and the Manchester City manager, Kevin Keegan, yesterday raised the stakes with a formal £2.5m player-plus-cash offer for the 21-year-old, with the City striker Paul Dickov making the weight in the deal.

Given Wednesday's perilous financial condition, Bromby could be on his way if the two games with Blackburn end in disappointment. Until then, he has the chance to justify the hype against one of England's most lethal marksmen.

Bromby, a self-confessed Leeds fan, concedes that while some defenders might play with a nasty streak, he would prefer to model himself on Ferdinand.

"It's not in my nature to go out and be aggressive," said Bromby. "I look at Rio Ferdinand, who has not been booked in a league game since he joined Leeds. Perhaps I need to fall somewhere in between, like Rio, who can be aggressive, but who also plays fair."

Terry Yorath's side have already beaten Sunderland and Aston Villa en route to this stage but they are without the suspended Gerald Sibon and Trond Egil Soltvedt, while the former Blackburn defender Marlon Broomes is cup-tied. The left-back Andy Hinchcliffe is included in the Wednesday squad for the first time in eight months after recovering from an Achilles injury.

Corrado Grabbi is omitted from Blackburn's squad tonight and seems destined to leave Ewood Park soon. After the signing of Cole, the Italian is effectively Rovers' fifth-choice striker, with manager Graeme Souness choosing fringe players Mark Hughes and Egil Ostenstad ahead of him. It is now a question of when, rather than if, he ends his unhappy stay. Napoli and Bologna are both keen to take him back to Italy.

Blackburn will be at full-strength tonight, with Damien Duff having recovered from a groin problem, Cole eligible, and Garry Flitcroft returning from suspension.

Blackburn's veteran striker Hughes, meanwhile, believes Cole will prove to be the answer to Rovers' goalscoring problems. "Andy is a top, top quality striker," said the Wales manager. "I was fortunate enough to play with him at Manchester United, if only for a short space of time.

"He's a player of great ability and he's got the key to unlock defences and that's what we have been lacking.

"He hasn't had a great deal of football over the last couple of months so maybe it will take him a couple of games to settle in, but Andy is a natural goalscorer so I don't think it will take him that long."

Rovers' assistant manager Tony Parkes would love Cole to score his first goal against Wednesday. "We bought him to score goals and it would be great if he could get on the scoresheet," he said. "He's played the one game in the league and he's settled in okay."

Playing in the Worthington Cup will be a novel experience for Cole, as he has not dirtied his hands with the competition for several years. He only played in the competition twice for United, and his last appearance was back in October 1997 when Sir Alex Ferguson's side lost at Ipswich Town.