Jordan Rhodes’ phenomenal goal scoring record for Huddersfield Town made him an interesting product a few years ago. Blackburn Rovers decided to take a chance on the prolific striker and after a remarkably impressive run of form for them he has provoked Premier League interest.
An £8 Million transfer to Blackburn from Huddersfield for Jordan Rhodes, not bad for a player who was originally bought for £350,000.
Jordan Rhodes originally began his career at Ipswich and had a very promising youth career at the club, he managed to gain a senior debut for the club as well and score his first goal against Cardiff City. After loan spells at Oxford, Rochdale and Brentford, Rhodes was then bought by Huddersfield Town and this was the club where the young Scotsman showcased the brilliant talent that he has.
He looked to be an impressive signing when he managed 6 goals in his first six games for Town, and a few months later he managed his first hat-trick in a remarkable 8 minutes where all the goals were headers. A scintillating run of form and a stunning season of brilliance ahead saw him finish as top scorer with 23 goals as well as replicate such great form the next season with a very credible 22 goals.
The pivotal season in his short career so far in bringing him recognition was the 2011-12 season where he scored 40 goals in 45 games which meant he was the top Goalscorer across every English division. He scored hat-tricks in back to back games, scored 5 goals in a 6-0 demolition of Wycombe and also scored 4 goals in a 4-4 draw with Sheffield Wednesday a few months before the Wycombe game.
He went on that season quite deservedly so to earn the League One player of the year award and the following season Blackburn bought his services.
He had a very impressive first season with Rovers netting 27 goals In 48 games. This saw him earn Blackburn’s player of the year award and that season was fantastic, yet this seasons very impressive tally of 16 goals in only 25 games threatens to improve on his first seasons tally!
So Transfer talk…
The Clubs believed to be interested in Rhodes are as follows:
Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace are a club who are fully aware that their Premier League fight for survival will be a very difficult challenge. After a poor start to the League campaign, Tony Pulis took over the managerial reigns at the London club who’s results have given a good response to the new manager in recent week.
A problem for Palace has been scoring and Rhodes most certainly provides that. Although Chamakh has been revitalised and in better form recently and £8.5 Million signing Dwight Gayle has scored a few goals in recent games, Palace are desperate for a reliable source of Goals. Rumours state that Palace are keen to sign the Scotsman and they are lining up a bid for him.
Cardiff
After Malky Mackay’s departure, new manager Ole Gunnar Solksjaer will be keen to impress and this signing may just win over the fans. After being promised sufficient funds to spend in the January window from controversial owner Vincent Tan, Cardiff are lacking a striker to offer Frazier Campbell support.
With goals few and far between for the Welsh club, Rhodeswould add a new dimension to the style of play and would mean the reliance on Campbell and young Jordan Mutch would drop. Cardiff are likely to have the best budget in terms of what they can offer Rhodes and Blackburn. They are likely to maintain Premier League status In comparison to some other clubs so this may convince the young Scotsman to join the club.
Hull
Hull are a club who have taken the Premier League by storm since the dramatic last day promotion from the Championship. They sit very comfortably in Mid-Table and have impressed many fans with the wins over Liverpool and demolition of Fulham. Rhodes could fit in very well at Hull and could be seen as the ideal signing for the tigers.
With Midfielder Tom Huddlestone in remarkable form, his vision and ability to open up play could attract Rhodes as regular service to him would be inevitably resulting in goals. A striking partnership with Sone Aluko could also be key to Hull’s success and may contribute to convincing him to join. Aluko’s pace may help support the partnership as the Scotsman is not the fastest of players. His skill, judgement and vision however could make the Aluko partnership a successful one and his finishing expertise would certainly guarantee goals, something Hull have had an abundance of in recent weeks. Rhodes May be key to Hull’s push for a high finish and this is the destination where he could almost guarantee Premier League football for another season.
Stoke
Recent signings for Stoke have been exciting and with Marko Arnautovic and Oussama Assaidi’s pace and skill they are lacking the striker to convert the opportunities presented by the skillful wingers. Rhodes’ technical ability is fantastic and Stoke in recent years have lacked the prolific striker role with Jonathan Walters, Peter Crouch and Ricardo a Fuller amongst others failing to impress consistently.
Rhodes May also fit well amongst Stoke’s system as Mark Hughes’ side have needed a striker to slot into his 4-2-3-1 formation, which sees Arnautovic and Assaidi’s exploitation of the full backs and wing areas provide magnificent opportunities for strikers to score. The recent runs from midfield by Nzonzi and Adam as well could see Rhodes hit the back of the net regularly. This signing may also be a much need confidence boost for Stoke after a recent poor run of results.
With rumours that Sunderland are looking to bid for Bradford’s talented Nakhi Wells, he could potentially be partnering the Scotsman by February. Sunderland’s struggles in the Premier League have taken a real boost in recent weeks with Gus Poyet strategically earning a cup win over title heavyweights Chelsea to book a place in the semi-finals, and Rhodes may be the other boost needed to help the fight for survival.
With his fantastic Goalscoring pedigree he would slot in nicely at the black cats’ side, receiving good quality service from wingers Adam Johnson and Seb Larsson. Midfielders Ki and Giaccherini could also provide chances for Rhodes to score the all important goals to rescue the season and potentially earn them silverware. With Rhodes signing for them, Sunderland fans could be wishing also to sign highly rated Nakhi Wells to partner him, a frightening combination which could hopefully ensure Sunderland’s top flight safety.
I personally believe the best move for Rhodes would be to Hull however with his price tag of a minimum of £10 Million according to Blackburn, I believe he will go to Crystal Palace for the value of £10 Million however he could provide a shock and move to Championship leaders Leicester or potentially even big spending QPR.
