Jordan Luke Rhodes (born 5 February 1990) is a former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is currently the loans manager at Blackburn Rovers. Born in England, he represented the Scotland national team.
He started his career at Ipswich Town and after loan spells at Oxford United, Rochdale and Brentford he joined Huddersfield Town. In the 2011–12 season, he was the top scorer in England with 36 league goals, breaking Huddersfield's club record for most league goals scored in a season.
In August 2012, he became English football's most expensive player outside the top flight when he joined Blackburn Rovers for an £8 million fee, equalling Blackburn's record transfer fee. In 2016, Rhodes joined Middlesbrough, briefly featuring in the Premier League. The following year he signed for Sheffield Wednesday. His season-long loan with Norwich City began in July 2018. After being released by Sheffield Wednesday in May 2021, he re-signed for former club Huddersfield Town.
In the summer of 2024, he moved on a free transfer to Blackpool, where he had been on loan the previous season.
Born in England, Rhodes opted to play for Scotland, for whom he had become eligible through school attendance while his father Andy Rhodes played as a goalkeeper for Scottish football clubs. Rhodes has represented Scotland at both U-21 level and as a full international.
Rhodes was born in Oldham, Greater Manchester, while his father, English goalkeeper Andy Rhodes, was playing for Oldham Athletic. Rhodes senior moved to Scotland later that year, when he joined Dunfermline Athletic, and stayed in Scotland until 1998, also playing for St Johnstone and Airdrieonians.
Andy Rhodes joined Ipswich Town as a coach in 2004. Jordan Rhodes attended Kesgrave High School in Ipswich through his secondary school years where he was scouted and recruited by Ipswich Town in 2004.
Rhodes joined Ipswich Town in March 2005 when his father joined the club as a goalkeeping coach. He was selected by the England under-17s team, but withdrew due to injury.
At the start of the 2006–07 season Rhodes suffered numerous injuries including a dislocated shoulder and being knocked unconscious. He signed his first professional contract in August 2007, and made his debut for Ipswich in the 2007–08 season, coming on as a late substitute against Burnley on 22 December.
On 9 April 2008, Rhodes scored his first league goal in the 73rd minute against Cardiff City and was the equalising goal in a 1–1 draw, after coming into the game as a half time substitute.
He joined Oxford United in the Conference Premier on a one-month loan deal on 10 October 2007. He failed to score in his four league appearances and he was recalled from his loan spell on 6 November by Ipswich as he was required for their FA Youth Cup.
With his playing time at Ipswich being limited, Rhodes joined League Two club Rochdale on 12 September 2008 to get more first-team opportunities.
On 23 January 2009, he joined Brentford on a one-month loan deal, and made his debut the following day in a 2–0 defeat away at Macclesfield Town in a League Two fixture. He scored his first Brentford goal on his home debut in the 3–0 win at home to Aldershot Town. Rhodes scored his first hat-trick in 29 minutes of the first half in the 3–1 away win at Shrewsbury Town on 31 January, also making him the youngest Brentford player to score a hat-trick in the club's history, five days short of his 19th birthday. On 26 February, having scored six goals in seven matches, his loan was extended for "a further two months", with the addition of a 24-hour recall clause. On 17 March, Rhodes suffered a broken metatarsal in a match against Chesterfield, ending his season. Even though Rhodes was sidelined for nearly half of March, he was named as March's PFA League Two Fans' Player of the Month.
Despite only playing for Brentford for three months, Rhodes was awarded the PFA Fans' Player of the Year accolade for League Two, in 2009.
On 31 July 2009, Rhodes signed for Huddersfield Town on a four-year contract for an undisclosed fee believed to be £350,000 plus a sell-on fee, becoming manager Lee Clark's sixth signing of the season. Rhodes started the season well scoring six goals in his first six games at the club. He made his debut coming off the bench in the 2–2 draw against Southend United at Roots Hall on 8 August 2009, where he scored Town's equaliser. He scored two goals on his home debut against Stockport County in the League Cup three days later. In his next game on 15 August he added a further two goals to his tally in a 3–1 win over Southampton. and then in Huddersfield's 4–3 away loss to Newcastle United in the League Cup second round.
On 10 October, he scored a hat-trick of headers within eight minutes in a 4–0 victory over Exeter City, which beat the previous record set by Dixie Dean in the 1930s. Rhodes finished the season as Huddersfield's top scorer with 23 goals in all competitions. He was again their top scorer in 2010–11, despite limited appearances, Rhodes scored 22 in total.
Rhodes began the 2011–12 season with 13 goals in his first 13 games in all competitions. He was also the first Huddersfield player to score back to back hat-tricks since the 1920s, the two coming against Exeter City on 15 October 2011 in a 4–0 away victory and then in the 3–1 home win over Preston North End on 22 October 2011. On 17 December, he scored all four of Huddersfield's goals in an away fixture which ended 4–4 against Sheffield Wednesday. Rhodes scored five times in a 6–0 win against Wycombe Wanderers, equalling the record for goals scored by a Huddersfield Town player in a match set by Dave Mangnall and Alf Lythgoe in the 1930s. On 11 March 2012, Rhodes was named League One Player of the Year at the Football League Awards, ahead of Charlton Athletic's Johnnie Jackson and Sheffield United's Ched Evans. On 3 April 2012, in a match against Leyton Orient, he surpassed Sam Taylor and George Brown's jointly held goalscoring record for the club with his 36th league goal of the season, as part of his sixth hat-trick of the season. Rhodes finished the 2011–12 season as both the club's and the league's top scorer with 36 league goals during the campaign.
Rhodes joined Blackburn Rovers on 30 August 2012, for a then club record £8 million fee. After being unveiled as a Rovers player the following morning, Rhodes said of his move to the Lancashire club: "I'm delighted, it's great to be here and to be part of a prestigious club."