Huddersfield Town were promoted to the Championship after a gruelling penalty shootout ending their 11 year absence from the league. But will they be starting next season with their top scorer Jordan Rhodes? That is a question we are no nearer to finding an answer to.
Even before Huddersfield’s success there were already teams lining up to snatch the fiery goal scorer. West Ham failed with an initial £4m offer in the January transfer window. Fulham are favourites to sign Rhodes with an offer of £5m ahead of Celtic, Everton, Aston Villa and Norwich who are all interested in the striker. Yet the Huddersfield bosses are determined not to back down from their £8m asking price.
Jordan Rhodes scored over 40 goals last season for the Terriers, there is no wonder why many top flight teams are after Rhodes, but at an asking price for £8m? £8m is a big price tag on a newly promoted League 1 player.
With all these offers flying in from all top flight teams, is it best for Rhodes to head straight to top flight football? Rhodes has proven that he can score goals in the lower divisions but will it be a gamble for a top flight team to pay such an amount for an unproven striker at that level. The jump from League One to Premier League is a massive leap and will truly test a player. Jay Bothroyd for example knocked in 20 goals for Cardiff in all competitions during the 2010/2011 season before his move to newly promoted Queens Park Rangers, who since then hasn’t been able to make first team status let alone score any goals. It is difficult for a young player to be given the opportunity to establish themselves within the Premier League because the competition and risk is so high, its just dependant on a club whoever wants to make that gamble.
With him now part of a team who is in the Championship could it be best for him to test his goal scoring abilities there? The Championship is a completely different league on its own. It is fast paced, tight and all the teams participating are of all equal stature. Anything goes in the Championship. Ideally a year in the Championship will truly test him as a player and will be able to continue to play regular football. The Terriers would also benefit from keeping a player like Rhodes to help them to launch their Championship campaign. The bosses at the Galpharm Stadium should stick to their guns with their asking price as it gives them an opportunity to keep the goal scorer as top flight teams will be weary to make such a high bid for a risky young player.
We’ve all seen what he can do in League One but with the Championship being such a competitive league, will he continue to score 40 goals there?
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