Middlesbrough must feel like they robbed Sheffield Wednesday with 8-figure transfer deal | OneFootball

How Middlesbrough cashed in as Sheffield Wednesday gambled on Jordan Rhodes

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 seen as a marquee 8-figure signing signing for an ambitious Wednesday side chasing promotion, but what followed was a striking fall from grace - and for Middlesbrough, an unexpected financial masterstroke.

Rhodes had already experienced a turbulent 18 months at the Riverside by the time the transfer was completed.

Yet, the Owls pushed ahead with a fee that matched Boro’s original outlay, desperate to unlock the goals that had once come so easily to the Scottish international.

In hindsight, the deal was a turning point for both clubs - one walking away relieved, the other saddled with a costly misfire.

How Jordan Rhodes’ Middlesbrough stint ended in Premier League exile

When Rhodes joined Middlesbrough in February 2016, he did so with a Championship record that few could rival.

Between Huddersfield Town and Blackburn Rovers, he had scored over 170 goals in the EFL, including three consecutive 20 plus goal seasons in the second tier.

Boro, then locked in a promotion battle under Aitor Karanka, saw Rhodes as the final piece of their puzzle.

In isolation, his contribution wasn’t disastrous - Rhodes scored six goals in 18 league appearances- y et even in the Championship, Karanka’s system never truly catered to Rhodes’ strengths. The possession-heavy, defensively rigid approach limited service to a striker who thrived on crosses and instinctive chances in the box.

Promotion to the Premier League only exacerbated those tactical tensions. Rhodes featured in just 208 minutes of top-flight football during the first half of 2016-17.

Reports of an impending exit surfaced as early as the summer window, and by January, he was out the door - loaned to Sheffield Wednesday, with an obligation to buy for a club-record fee.

For Middlesbrough, the transfer proved to be a fortunate escape. Despite Rhodes’ limited role in the Premier League, they recouped their investment and avoided the long-term burden of an underused, high-earning striker.

Given how the second half of his career unfolded, the decision to cash in when they did now looks prescient.

Sheffield Wednesday’s £10m Rhodes deal remains a costly mistake

Sheffield Wednesday believed they were signing a proven goalscorer at Championship level. At the time of his arrival in January 2017, Rhodes had netted 91 goals in his previous 190 Championship appearances - a strike rate that placed him among the most consistent forwards in the league.

The version that arrived at Hillsborough, however, was already starting to regress.

Rhodes’ initial impact was modest. He failed to find form in the final months of the 2016–17 season, and notably declined to take a penalty in the Owls’ shootout defeat to Huddersfield Town in the play-off semi-final - a decision that sparked backlash among the fanbase. Despite this, the permanent £10 million transfer went through that summer.

What followed was one of the most disappointing spells of any striker in recent Wednesday history. Across 112 appearances, Rhodes scored just 20 goals. Multiple managers failed to find a system that suited him, and his confidence visibly drained.

Even a relatively productive loan spell at Norwich in 2018-19 - where he netted nine goals - was not enough to reignite his Hillsborough career.

By the end of the 2020-21 season, Rhodes departed the club on a free transfer. His goal to game ratio, and the scale of the investment, meant his signing would be remembered not as a coup, but as a cautionary tale.

In a wider sense, the transfer came to symbolise Wednesday’s mismanagement during that period - an era defined by high wages, unfulfilled ambition, and eventual relegation.

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