287 professional appearances. 151 professional goals. It’s fair to say that Jordan Rhodes has established himself as one of the most prolific goalscorers outside the Premier League. A good job it is too for current employers Blackburn Rovers, who are looking to reclaim their place in England’s top flight.

A couple of years ago, the two parties were heading in opposite directions, so much so that they crashed head on into each other in the summer of 2012. With Rhodes having just scored a league-high 36 goals for Huddersfield Town in League One as they were promoted via the play-offs, Rovers were relegated from the Premier League after a disastrous season, both on and off the pitch.

There is no such thing in football as a quick fix, and fans of the Lancashire side can attest to that more than most. A figure of £8 million was spent on bringing Rhodes across the Pennines. It was a record figure for an English club outside of the top flight at the time. It was a risk which had to pay off, sooner rather than later.

Parachute payments can only last so long. So many fallen Premier League clubs have dropped into English football’s third tier within the last decade: Leeds United, Sheffield United and Wednesday, Nottingham Forest, Wolves, Norwich City, and Southampton to name but a few. The latter two have since made returns to the Premier League, each with a talisman English striker in their ranks-Grant Holt and Rickie Lambert respectively.

Rhodes, though born in England, plays for Scotland through having lived there whilst his dad was a player. It is fair to say that there are not many more potent goal scorers in the country than the Oldham-born man.

Not that that seems to mean much to the country he does represent. For all the plaudits Rhodes has earned in the Championship, he has just 11 Scotland caps. His goal scoring record is not bad either, with three goals coming from those appearances.

His international career has failed to take off, with Everton’s Steven Naismith, Derby’s Chris Martin, and Wednesday’s Stevie May keeping Rhodes out of the Scotland team at the moment. Whilst Naismith is a grafter and good for an important goal, and Martin was the Championship’s top scorer last season, May himself has only managed three goals since his summer move to South Yorkshire from St. Johnstone.

Perhaps the reason behind Rhodes’ struggles relies heavily on the fact he was neither born in Scotland, and has never played north of the border. Naismith, born south of Glasgow, has played for Kilmarnock, and more famously, Rangers. May, as previously discussed, has played in Scotland, and was born in the country.

But, like Rhodes, Martin was born in England, and has only ever played for English clubs. At that point, you would point to goal scoring prowess. Last season, the Blackburn forward scored 25 league goals compared to the 22 that Martin managed, including three play-off matches for the latter.

Maybe, it is just because Rhodes does not suit the style that Scotland play. It is no secret that Rhodes is something of a goal poacher. He does not do much work outside the final third, and whilst that suits Blackburn down to the ground, it seems that Scotland prefer the more rounded individuals of Naismith and Martin.

This, if anything, appears to benefit Rovers. On international breaks, they are much less likely to lose him to injury, and, all the while, Rhodes will be desperate to prove his worth to the national setup by scoring more goals.

Rhodes has been seen as a great talent since his early days with Town, something Huddersfield Town fan Steven Downes can vouch for. He said: “He’s been successful at every club in every league he’s been at.” Steven also said: “He should play for Scotland as he’s their best finisher of the ball since Kenny Dalglish.”

Reportedly the subject of a transfer bid from Premier League Hull City this summer, Rhodes has had to settle for another season in the Championship. Steven Downes believes ‘he was ready to play in the Premier League two years ago’, though he concedes that ‘it would depend on the team’.

Towards the latter end of the last campaign, in which Blackburn finished two points short of a play-off place, Rhodes formed a cunning partnership with fellow forward Rudy Gestede. Although Rhodes is primarily seen as someone to simply stick the ball in the back of the net, the two often reversed roles with the former Cardiff striker being played through to score by Rhodes.

Steven Downes says Rhodes’ style of play means he needs someone alongside him who is willing to do the donkey work: “He needs a worker beside him to do the running and the dirty work. We [Huddersfield] had that with Novak. He would run all day and play the balls into Rhodes for him to finish them off.”

Blackburn have been progressing each season since they arrived in the Championship. Under Gary Bowyer, they have a manager who lets his team do the talking. In Rhodes, they have a striker who has an uncanny ability to find the back of the net from the most difficult of positions. They occupy a playoff place going into this weekend’s clash with Middlesbrough at the Riverside. It’s safe to say that if Blackburn-and Rhodes-can get something from that stern trip, the only way is the Premier League. And that would mean the £8 million risk has truly paid off.