Sheffield Wednesday: Why Jack Hunt is confident Jordan Rhodes will be a big hit for Owls

Hunt spent the early part of his career playing alongside the prolific striker at Huddersfield Town.

Rhodes plundered a remarkable 62 goals in two seasons as the Terriers reached back-to-back League One play-off finals. He played an instrumental role in Huddersfield’s march to Wembley when they defeated Sheffield United on penalties to secure promotion to the Championship in 2012.

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Since then, the Scotland international has gone on to ply his trade at Blackburn Rovers and Middlesbrough.

Having slipped down in the pecking order for a starting berth at the Riverside, Rhodes was relieved to join Wednesday last week as he looks to ressurect his career. The 27-year-old caught the eye on his Owls debut, flicking on a long punt upfield from Vincent Sasso for Ross Wallace to grab the winner.

Hunt told The Star: “I had some great times with Jordan at Huddersfield and I was delighted when we signed him.

“He’s one of the nicest people I’ve ever met in football. I think I played with him at Huddersfield for three years and I don’t think I heard him swear once!

“He’s a great guy and his record speaks for itself. He really knows how to put the ball in the back of the net.”

Rhodes’s high-profile switch to Hillsborough was completed 14 hours after the transfer deadline had passed, with the Football League ruling that the paperwork had been finalised before the 11pm cut-off point.

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Hunt said: “I spoke to Jordan a lot over January but he never gave any sign he was coming here! It was brilliant to see him come in so late on and I think he’s going to massive for us.

“To say Jordan has not played much football all season, I thought he was outstanding against Wigan. He really put himself about. He tired towards the end but that was understandable.”

Rhodes is set to lead the line when Carlos Carvalhal’s side host Birmingham City this Friday and Hunt is ready to provide him with the ammunition to succeed.

Hunt said: “I am quite close to Jordan. He was a big part of our success at Huddersfield and I set quite a few goals up for him there so I’m hoping he gets some more for Sheffield Wednesday as well.”

The full-back is excited by the striking options at Carvalhal’s disposal.

“I think defences are going to be petrified of a fully-fit Jordan and Gary Hooper because they really know how to put the ball in the net,” said Hunt. “We’ve got Fletcher, Sam Winnall, Nando and Attey as well so we’ve got real competition for places. I‘m glad we’ve got them in our squad and they are not in anybody else’s.

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