Sheffield Wednesday have had their fair share of failed transfer deals over the years, but few will go down as a bigger disaster than the signing of striker Jordan Rhodes from Middlesbrough in 2017.
After buying the club from Milan Mandaric in January 2015, Dejphon Chansiri set himself the goal of returning Wednesday to the Premier League within his first two years of ownership, and he invested extensively in that pursuit.
The Owls made a number of impressive signings, including Fernando Forestieri and Gary Hooper, and Chansiri came close to achieving his dream, but the team lost two successive play-offs under Carlos Carvalhal in 2016 and 2017.
However, Wednesday made a lot of high-profile mistakes during that time, and while Urby Emanuelson and Almen Abdi also had dreadful times at Hillsborough, Rhodes’ arrival proved to be the most disappointing, especially given his expensive transfer fee.
Jordan Rhodes signing looked to be a coup for Sheffield Wednesday
Rhodes had built a reputation as one of the most prolific attackers in the EFL during his time at Huddersfield Town, Blackburn Rovers, and Middlesbrough, therefore Wednesday fans were ecstatic when he was connected with the club in January 2017.
| Jordan Rhodes’ record prior to Sheffield Wednesday move (as per Transfermarkt) | |||
| Club | Appearances | Goals | Assists |
| Ipswich Town | 10 | 1 | 0 |
| Oxford United | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Rochdale | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| Brentford | 14 | 7 | 2 |
| Huddersfield Town | 212 | 96 | 17 |
| Blackburn Rovers | 169 | 84 | 13 |
| Middlesbrough | 24 | 6 | 3 |
Much to the pleasure of the Owls fan base, the whispers proved to be more than just speculation, and discussions to bring Rhodes to Hillsborough on deadline day appeared to be moving in the right way, but there was no confirmation of the agreement by the time the window closed at 11 p.m.
That sparked a nervous wait for supporters to see if the club had landed their man, but it was confirmed the following afternoon that the move was completed before the deadline, and Rhodes initially joined Wednesday on loan with an option to buy for a club record £10 million in the summer.
With the Owls firmly among the Championship’s promotion contenders, many hoped Rhodes would be the man to propel the club back to the Premier League, as he had done for Middlesbrough in the 2015-16 season, when he scored six goals in 18 games in the second half of the campaign after joining from Blackburn in January.
Given his remarkable career goal-scoring record, Wednesday must have been convinced that Rhodes would be a success at the club, but that was not the case.
Jordan Rhodes is one of Sheffield Wednesday’s worst ever signings
While Rhodes’ arrival at Hillsborough was met with enthusiasm, red flags immediately appeared when he failed to make an early impression, and his decision not to take a penalty in his team’s play-off semi-final defeat to Huddersfield Town sparked a furious outcry from fans.
With Carvalhal trying to get the best out of Rhodes, Wednesday may have wished they could have avoided signing the striker permanently, but there was no way out of the deal, and his time in South Yorkshire continued to deteriorate.
If Rhodes had thought that Carvalhal’s departure in December 2017 would reverse his fortunes, he found himself much farther down the pecking order under his successor, Jos Luhukay, making only a few appearances in the second half of the season after the Dutchman took over.
It came as no surprise when Luhukay permitted Rhodes to join Norwich City on loan in the summer of 2018, and, frustratingly for Owls fans, he found his form at Carrow Road, scoring nine goals in 40 games to help the Canaries win the Championship in the 2018-19 season.
That was not enough for Rhodes to break into the lineup after his return to Hillsborough, and he only scored three goals for Wednesday in the following season, all of which came in a 4-0 win over Nottingham Forest in December 2019.
Rhodes enjoyed a brief revival near the end of the 2020-21 season following the arrival of Darren Moore, but he was unable to prevent Wednesday’s relegation to League One, and he was released at the end of his contract that summer, leaving after only 20 goals and five assists in 112 games for the club.
If Rhodes’ lack of goals wasn’t enough of a disappointment for the Owls, the transfer cost paid for his services would have undoubtedly contributed considerably to the six-point deduction that led to relegation, so this is a deal that everyone will want to forget.
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