About ten years ago, Sheffield Wednesday looked like a club destined for the Premier League. Following Dejphon Chansiri’s £37.5 million takeover in 2015, the Owls quickly became promotion contenders, pushing toward the top end of the Championship.
The Thai owner set his sights on a symbolic return to the top flight in 2017 — the year of Sheffield Wednesday’s 150th anniversary. “We want to be back for our anniversary,” Chansiri declared at the time. “We will invest appropriately to get this club to the Premier League.”
The big gamble: Jordan Rhodes
As the 2016/17 season reached its final months, Wednesday were again chasing promotion, having finished sixth the previous year. Determined to go one better, the club made a high-profile move for Jordan Rhodes, signing him on loan from Middlesbrough with an agreement to make the deal permanent for £10 million in the summer.
For Rhodes, it marked the end of an unhappy spell at Boro, where he had joined for £9 million in 2016 but struggled to win over Aitor Karanka despite contributing six goals and two assists in their promotion-winning campaign. After Middlesbrough strengthened with Alvaro Negredo, Rudy Gestede, and Patrick Bamford, Rhodes was surplus to requirements and eager for a fresh start.
Given his prolific Championship record with Blackburn Rovers — 82 goals in 159 appearances — Wednesday fans hoped Rhodes would be the final piece of the puzzle for promotion. On paper, it looked a smart investment. In reality, it became one of the club’s most regrettable deals.
A dream that never took off
Rhodes managed just three goals in 18 league appearances that season as Wednesday once again reached the play-offs, only to fall short against Huddersfield Town. The following campaign was no better — five goals in 31 matches — and his influence continued to fade.
A loan to Norwich City in 2018/19 offered temporary respite, but upon his return, Rhodes found himself a fringe figure. He netted three times in 2019/20 and seven in 2020/21, a season that ended with Wednesday’s relegation to League One. His departure in 2021 and subsequent return to Huddersfield brought a quiet end to his disappointing spell at Hillsborough.
Fan verdict: “A mistake that summed up the Chansiri era”
Reflecting on the transfer, Sheffield Wednesday fan pundit Patrick McKenna didn’t hold back.
“The decision to sign Jordan Rhodes was a massive mistake — it summed up the lack of direction under Chansiri,” he said. “There was no logic in it. We already had plenty of strikers, including Sam Winnall, so it just didn’t make sense strategically or financially.”
He continued, “Rhodes was already past his peak. His best years were with Huddersfield and Blackburn, and by the time he joined us, that spark had gone. He never got going, and fans turned on him after that missed penalty in the play-off semi-final against Huddersfield. Apart from that hat-trick versus Nottingham Forest, he was mostly ineffective.”
Patrick’s verdict is blunt: “By the end, it was sad to watch. The move failed on every level — financially, tactically, emotionally. If you’re ranking Wednesday’s worst-ever signings, Jordan Rhodes is right up there at number one.”