Hoyle hopeful Town’s elevation will help in fight to keep Rhodes

The 22-year-old may have had his quietest game of the season as the Terriers prevailed in a nail-biting penalty shoot-out against Sheffield United at Wembley to end an 11-year absence from the second tier.

But 40 goals for his club this term and another six in the colours of Scotland Under-21s mean Rhodes will be one of the most highly sought after transfer targets of the summer.

Sources in London have indicated West Ham United plan to step up their attempts to sign the Terriers striker after having a £5m bid rejected by the Yorkshire club in January.

Fulham are also keen along with Aston Villa and Everton but after watching Huddersfield clinch promotion in the most dramatic of fashions with an 8-7 shoot-out win, Hoyle was adamant the club want to keep Rhodes.

Asked by the Yorkshire Post about his star striker’s future, the Town chairman said: “I can’t see anyone paying me £50m.

“Seriously, Jordan has done fantastic and credit to him for that. He is a big reason why we have been successful this season.

“He is a great guy and a fantastic striker. It didn’t come off for him in the final but anyone who watches him week-in and week-out knows he is a class above.

“But, at the same time, he is under contract until 2015. That is a few years away so the power is with us. It makes it easier to keep him because we are in the Championship. In League One? Forget it. My phone would have been ringing Sunday morning with clubs wanting him.

“But maybe now Jordan will fancy giving it a go with us in the Championship.”

Manager Simon Grayson, who clinched a third promotion from League One after earlier successes with Leeds United and Blackpool, is also understandably keen to hold on to one of the Football League’s hottest properties.

He said: “Jordan has ambitions to play at the highest level. We have to match that ambition and, hopefully, we will.

“Every player has a price and we would be foolish not to think we might lose him. But the chairman showed his ambition by turning down the money one club offered him in January.

“Whether anyone comes in with the money we feel is acceptable is another thing.”

Asked if that meant Town had a fee in mind that would represent good business, Grayson replied: “We don’t have a price because we don’t know what clubs will decide to bid for him.

“I saw the figure of £8m mentioned somewhere. Obviously, that is a lot of money. But we are not looking to sell him.

“If someone wants to offer money, then fair enough. But our ambition is to keep our best players.”

Rhodes, for his part, added: “I have no idea whether I will be here next season. That is not for me to decide.

“It is down to the people who run the club. I have got a contract here for a few years and as long as I am wanted or told otherwise I will give my all for Huddersfield Town. As long as I am wanted here, I am a Huddersfield player.”

Promotion may well strengthen Huddersfield’s chances of holding on to Rhodes but whether he goes or not, there seems certain to be big changes this summer.

With a dozen members of the squad Grayson inherited from Lee Clark in February out of contract this summer, the Town manager has the flexibility to start to bring in his own players.

Change could be also be on the way at Bramall Lane after the Blades failed to bounce back into the Championship at the first attempt.

United still have several high earners on the books, which in the third tier – where central payments from the League were this season £3.6m lower than in the Championship and gate receipts are lower – is hard to sustain.

Added to those on big wages is the likelihood that promising youngsters such as Harry Maguire and Matt Lowton seem certain to attract interest from elsewhere this summer means United could have some big decisions to make.

Asked by the Yorkshire Post what ramifications the defeat to Huddersfield would cause the club, Blades manager Danny Wilson said: “I am not even talking about that, I am only here to talk about the game.”

On the final itself, Wilson added: “There was nothing between the two teams. Overall, it was a very tough game. It wasn’t, by any stretch of the imagination, an open game – you don’t get them at this level.

“But the lads did fantastic. We feel massively disappointed but, once the dust settles, the players can be proud of a fantastic season as we got 90 points and scored 90-odd goals.”

Defeat at Wembley meant United followed the Sunderland class of 1997-98 in becoming only the second side in League history to finish the regular season with 90 points and not win promotion.

To be dealt such a cruel fate is, undoubtedly, harsh on a team who also scored 92 goals in 46 games, comfortably the highest in English football.

Credit, therefore, is due to the Blades players for spending time after Saturday’s final applauding the Town supporters in a wonderful display of sportsmanship.

Wilson said: “It was a spontaneous thing (to go and applaud the Huddersfield fans) and rightly so. That showed the humility and dignity that my boys have got.”

Huddersfield’s promotion-winning squad will have an open top bus parade today, starting at 5.15pm at the Galpharm Stadium and ending with a civic reception at the Town Hall half-an-hour later.