Huddersfield Town fans know all about the penalty-area danger posed by Jordan Rhodes.
And despite a sluggish start at Middlesbrough following his big-money move from Blackburn Rovers, the striker remains as big a threat as ever.
That’s the view of Jonathon Taylor, of the Middlesbrough Gazette, as the 26-year-old prepares to take on his former club at the Riverside Stadium.
Boro spent big on Rhodes – a reported £9m initially with the potential to rise to £11m with add-ons – in order to bolster their Championship promotion bid.
Watch David Wagner speaking about the gap between Town and other Championship sides below
But he goes into the Tuesday-night clash with Town, who get 20% of any profit made by Blackburn on the man they bought for £8m in August 2012, having notched only twice in seven starts and four further appearances from the bench.
Rhodes, a Scotland international but often overlooked by current national boss Gordon Strachan, registered 87 goals for Town, who bought him for £400,000 from Ipswich Town in 2009, and 85 in Blackburn colours.
And reporter Taylor reckons he will be a success at Boro, who are currently second as they aim to regain the Premier League status lost in 2009.
“Maybe Jordan hasn’t yet got the goals the fans were hoping for,” he said of a player who scored six times in seven appearances against Town for Blackburn and never finished on the losing side.
“But he has shown plenty of good signs, and his ability was evident in the way he scored his goal in Friday’s (3-2) win at QPR.
“It wasn’t the cleanest of strikes, but he still managed to get the shot away and put it in the right area.
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“I think Jordan has added another dimension to the Boro side, and he and David Nugent provide options for Aitor Karanka.
“While Nugent is an energetic, physical type who closes people down, Jordan sticks to a more central area.
“Perhaps he doesn’t do as much as Nugent, but a lot of what he does do is effective.
“And he helps open up space for (on-loan Southampton midfielder) Gaston Ramirez, who is a quality player.”
It’s the first of three successive home games for Boro, who also include former Town midfielder Adam Clayton.
Karanka’s side, three points behind Burnley and one above Brighton and Hove Albion with a game in hand on both, host Preston North End on Saturday and Reading next Tuesday.
Town, 18th after losing 1-0 at home to Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday, can call on former Middlesbrough midfielder Dean Whitehead.
But on-loan Boro left-back James Husband is ineligible against his parent club.
The last game before his loan ends is a home to Hull City on Saturday.
