When Middlesbrough agreed a £10 million deal to sell Jordan Rhodes to Sheffield Wednesday in 2017, few could have predicted the extent to which the transfer would unravel at Hillsborough.
Once one of the most feared forwards in the EFL, Rhodes was viewed as a showpiece 8-figure acquisition for an ambitious Wednesday side vying for promotion, but what followed was a stunning fall from grace – and an unexpected financial masterstroke for Middlesbrough. Rhodes had already had a tumultuous 18 months at the Riverside by the time the transfer was consummated. Nonetheless, the Owls went ahead with a sum that equaled Boro’s original outlay, hoping to unlock the goals that had previously come so freely to the Scottish international.
In retrospect, the transaction was a watershed moment for both clubs, with one walking away relieved and the other stuck with an expensive misfire.
How Jordan Rhodes’ Middlesbrough stint ended in Premier League exile
Rhodes joined Middlesbrough in February 2016, with a Championship record few could match. Between Huddersfield Town and Blackburn Rovers, he scored more than 170 goals in the EFL, including three consecutive 20-goal seasons in the second division. Boro, then in a promotion struggle under Aitor Karanka, saw Rhodes as the missing piece of the puzzle.
In isolation, Rhodes’ contribution was not awful – he scored six goals in 18 league appearances – but even in the Championship, Karanka’s system never really suited Rhodes’ abilities. The possession-heavy, defensively strict strategy limited opportunities for a striker who relied on crosses and instinctive chances in the box.
Jordan Rhodes at Middlesbrough (via FotMob)
Appearances 24
Goals 6
Assists 2
Promotion to the Premier League only heightened the tactical difficulties. Rhodes played just 208 minutes of top-flight football in the first half of 2016-17. Reports of his potential departure arose as early as the summer transfer window, and by January, he was gone – leased to Sheffield Wednesday with a club-record buyout clause. Middlesbrough’s transfer proved to be a fortunate escape. Despite Rhodes’ limited Premier League appearances, they recouped their investment and avoided the long-term costs of an underutilized, high-earning striker.
Given how the second half of his career played out, the choice to cash in when they did now appears prescient.
Sheffield Wednesday’s £10m Rhodes deal remains a costly mistake
Sheffield Wednesday believed they were signing a Championship-caliber goalscorer. Rhodes has 91 goals in 190 Championship outings prior to his arrival in January 2017, ranking him among the league’s most consistent forwards. However, the version that arrived at Hillsborough had already begun to regress.
Rhodes’ first impact was minor. He struggled to find form in the later months of the 2016-17 season, and notably refused to take a penalty in the Owls’ play-off semi-final shootout loss to Huddersfield Town, which provoked fan outrage. Despite this, the permanent £10 million deal took place that summer. What followed was one of the most underwhelming performances by a striker in recent Wednesday history. Rhodes scored only 20 goals in 112 appearances. Multiple supervisors failed to discover a structure that worked for him, and his confidence was visibly eroded.
Even a relatively effective loan spell at Norwich in 2018-19, where he scored nine goals, was insufficient to resuscitate his Hillsborough career. By the end of the 2020-21 season, Rhodes had left the club for free. His goal-to-game ratio and the amount of the investment ensured that his signing would be viewed as a cautionary tale rather than a coup. In a broader sense, the transfer came to represent Wednesday’s mismanagement during that period, which was characterised by expensive pay, unrealized ambition, and eventual relegation.
Middlesbrough may not have received what they hoped for on the pitch from Jordan Rhodes, but in commercial terms, they made one of the most fortuitous exits in recent Championship history.
Leave a Reply