How Huddersfield Town turned £350k into £8m - Terriers hit the jackpot in a big way | OneFootball

Jordan Rhodes's move from Ipswich to Huddersfield in 2009 is comfortably one of the best bits of business ever conducted by the Terriers.

Jordan Rhodes joined Huddersfield Town in 2009 in what would turn out to be one of the best bits of business the Terriers have ever conducted.

Fresh off the back of scoring seven goals and assisting in 14 matches on-loan at League Two Brentford from Ipswich Town, Rhodes earned himself a move to League One Huddersfield in a deal which cost the Yorkshire club only £350,000.

Rhodes was given the task by manager Lee Clark of scoring the goals which would fire the Terriers up the league and the 14-time Scottish international did not disappoint, hitting 19 goals and notching eight assists as Huddersfield eventually lost out in the playoff semi-finals.

The League One playoffs and Huddersfield would become accustomed to each other through Rhodes' time in Yorkshire.

In the next two seasons, the forward hit 51 goals with Huddersfield reaching the playoffs on both occasions, eventually earning promotion by defeating Sheffield United in the final at Wembley, despite having missed their opening three penalties.

Interest in Rhodes was high, and Huddersfield's meager £350,000 investment from three years prior had earned them promotion to the Championship and was about to give them a huge windfall.

Blackburn Rovers smashed their record transfer record to sign Jordan Rhodes from Huddersfield Town

Following Blackburn's relegation from the Premier League, they were looking for an immediate return to the top flight and turned to Huddersfield's Rhodes as the main man to score the goals, after Yakubu had departed for China.

In a deal worth up to £8 million, Rovers smashed their transfer record to bring Rhodes to Ewood Park, with Huddersfield netting a healthy £7.65 million profit on the Scotsman.

Although they would ultimately finish 17th in their first season back in the Championship, Rhodes' output didn't drop, hitting 26 goals with a further four assists during his first season with the club.

Despite Blackburn failing to finish in the top six in the few years after, Rhodes continued to prove himself capable of scoring bags of goals at Championship level, netting 56 goals across the next three years in Lancashire before a £9 million move to Middlesbrough.

Moves to Sheffield Wednesday, Norwich City, a brief return to Huddersfield, Blackpool and most recently Mansfield Town followed, and now, at 35, he is a free agent with his best years behind him.

Huddersfield Town got the best from Jordan Rhodes

The Terriers almost certainly got the best deal from Rhodes.

Not only did they make the most money off of the forward, he also helped fire them to promotion as the main man, something aside from Middlesbrough he has been unable to do elsewhere.

Despite spending nine years away from the club, he remained a fan favourite, thanks to his efforts in League One for the Terriers, which culminated in an emotional return to the club in 2021, though he was unable to replicate the form he showed in his first spell.