Middlesbrough finally land Jordan Rhodes in £9m deal

The 25-year-old has signed a four-and-a-half-year deal at the Riverside Stadium.

Rhodes joined Blackburn from Huddersfield for £8m in August 2012 and the fee is reported to surpass that figure at £9m.

Boro’s aborted move for Rhodes was resurrected a day after the proposed transfer initially fell through.

And head coach Aitor Karanka has added Rhodes’ firepower to his promotion challengers after missing out on a return to the Barclays Premier League in last season’s Sky Bet Championship play-off final.

A statement on the club’s official website read: “The club is delighted to confirm the arrival of Jordan Rhodes from Blackburn Rovers.

“The 25-year-old striker has signed a four-and-a-half-year contract with the club after joining from Ewood Park for an undisclosed fee.”

Rhodes scored 87 goals in 148 appearances over three years at Huddersfield and netted 28 times in his first season in the Championship with Blackburn.

He scored 85 goals in 169 appearances for Rovers, 11 of them coming this season.