Former Town striker Jordan Rhodes has announced his retirement, aged 35.
Rhodes joined the Blues as a 15-year-old from Barnsley for £5,000 after his father Andy became keeper-coach at Portman Road.
Just as he was making his mark in the first team, the one-time Kesgrave High School pupil was controversially sold to Huddersfield by then-manager Roy Keane in the summer of 2009 after making only 10 sub appearances, scoring one goal, with the player having been keen to remain with the Blues.
After top-ups and 10 per cent of the sell-on when Rhodes moved from Huddersfield, with whom he enjoyed a hugely successful spell, to Blackburn for £8 million in August 2012, the fee Town eventually received was close to £1.5 million.
Rhodes, who is the third-highest scorer in the top four English leagues over the past two decades having bagged 220 goals, Billy Sharp, 259, and Harry Kane, 227.
The 14-times-capped Scotland international, scoring three goals, spent time on loan at Oxford United, Rochdale and Brentford while with the Blues and following his spell with Blackburn moved on to Middlesbrough for £9 million.
In July 2017, he joined Sheffield Wednesday, initially on loan before a £10 million permanent switch.
A loan spell at Norwich City followed, prior to a free transfer return to the Terriers, then a season and a half at Blackpool, before a half-season loan at Mansfield last term.
Rhodes, who was promoted four times with four different clubs over the course of his career, has been appointed as Blackburn’s loan manager.
Elsewhere, Rhodes’s former Town teammate Connor Wickham scored from the halfway line for a PFA XI in a game against Manchester United’s U21s earlier today.
The PFA XI is a side of free agents looking for new clubs which has been training and playing friendlies during pre-season.
https://x.com/PFA/status/1963198873712632097