The striker had a forgettable afternoon at Elland Road, missing a penalty as Leeds United edged a 1-0 win.
Just a few weeks ago, it appeared somewhat surprising that Leeds United continued to distance themselves from the seemingly Championship-wide chase for Middlesbrough outcast Jordan Rhodes.
Derby County, Aston Villa and Newcastle United were all supposedly in the mix, only for Yorkshire rivals Sheffield Wednesday to swoop in with a £10 million bid on transfer deadline day, as reported by the BBC, thus seemingly ramping up their promotion prospects.
Leeds, meanwhile, went through the entire month of January without adding another centre-forward to their squad despite manager Garry Monk publically admitting the need to reinforce his attacking ranks.
Flash forward a few weeks, however, and suddenly the decision not to pay so-called ‘silly money’ for a player who is still yet to prove himself at the top level seems increasingly sensible. After all, Rhodes has now scored just once in his first six games for The Owls, missing a penalty against, of all clubs, Leeds United, in Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Elland Road.
In fact, Rob Green’s superb spot-kick stop was the only time Rhodes called him into action all afternoon as Leeds pulled three points clear of their local rivals in the play-off places.
The Scotland international, whose usually clinical finishing just about represents the extent of his qualities, only managed two other attempts on goal, both missing the target, and accumulated just 20 touches before being hooked with less than half an hour to play.
And, ironically, it was a goal from top scorer Chris Wood that condemned the former Blackburn forward’s new side to defeat. The New Zealand international cost just a fraction of Rhodes price tag but, if Saturday’s Yorkshire clash tells us anything, it’s that money can’t buy you success in the Championship.
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