Blackburn Rovers found huge value for money with £8m deal - "he was worth every penny" | OneFootball

Jordan Rhodes was a transfer masterstroke for Blackburn Rovers

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Like any other club across the English footballing pyramid, Blackburn Rovers supporters have seen the Ewood Park hierarchy pull off some major transfer masterstrokes throughout a lengthy and rich history.

High-profile names such as Tim Sherwood, Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton are amongst the first that spring to mind as a result of their stellar contributions during Rovers' unexpected Premier League title success of 1994/95, whilst several other stars from the club's array of top-flight seasons in recent past have also been viewed as major success stories in this part of East Lancashire.

However, it is fair to say that, in the years that followed Blackburn's relegation to the Championship in the spring of 2012, the locals haven't exactly had much to shout about, with supporters often voicing their displeasure at how the club has been run under the controversial ownership of The Venky's, who have well and truly tightened the pursestrings in recent seasons.

This has led to a plethora of managers and head coaches having to unearth hidden gems in the English and European market in order to make Rovers a competitive force in the division, which has only been demonstrated in a handful of near misses on the top six since being promoted out of League One in 2017.

As such, it seems unlikely in the years to come that Blackburn will part with a fee such as the £8m spent on then-Huddersfield Town striker Jordan Rhodes, who was worth all the aforementioned price-tag in the eyes of many, including FLW's Rovers fan pundit, Simon Middlehurst.

Rhodes had previously built up a reputation as a 'goalscorer extraordinare' at Huddersfield in League One, where a total of 87 goals in 148 appearances saw the Terriers land a major coup of their own following a £350,000 switch from Ipswich Town.

Such a tally included a remarkable 39 goals in 45 appearances across all competitions in 2011/12 as Huddersfield secured promotion via the play-offs to the Championship, with interest in their talisman unsurprisingly rife.

In a bid to return the club immediately to the Premier League, Rovers would part with the aforementioned seven-figure sum to secure Rhodes' signature. Yet, whilst it failed to secure a top-flight spot, without his 84 goals and 13 assists in 169 appearances, eighth and ninth-place finishes in 2013/14 and 2014/15 could have been extremely different for the club.

When asked to sum up the Scotland international's time in a Blackburn shirt in one word, Middlehurst told FLW: "Jordan Rhodes was probably worth every penny.

"He was just quality for Blackburn. That's the best way to describe him, quality," he added.

"The goals that he scored for us. At the time I think we missed out on promotion by just a few points, and that was all down to his goals.

"A regular goalscorer, consistent. Just an all-round quality player, and he showed that in every team that he played for.

"He just scored goals, he was a great Championship-quality striker who knew how to find the back of the net. He was definitely a fan favourite for a reason," Middlehurst stated.

Jordan Rhodes is now trying to help Blackburn Rovers in a different capacity

Rhodes would leave Blackburn in February 2016 in a £9m deal, with all six of his goals in 24 following appearances for Middlesbrough helping Aitor Karanka's side end a seven-year absence from the Premier League.

The remainder of his professional career saw him continue to consistently find the net in spells for Sheffield Wednesday, Norwich City and Blackpool, as well as a return to Huddersfield which included play-off final heartbreak at Wembley in the 2022 play-off final against Nottingham Forest.

Yet, after announcing his retirement in September 2025, the 35-year-old is now trying to help Blackburn progress forward in an off-pitch capacity, as he was subsequently appointed as the club's 'Loan Manager', in which temporary switches are arranged for homegrown talents to continue their individual development.