Huddersfield Town will be playing League One football next season for the first time in over a decade.

The Terriers endured a tough 2023/24 Championship season, which culminated in an eventual relegation to the third tier, along with Rotherham United and Birmingham City.

Manager at the time, Andre Breitenreiter, was relieved of his duties, and in came former Barnsley and Swansea City boss, Michael Duff ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.

Duff has a big task on his hands, as Huddersfield will be looking for an immediate return to the second tier next season, but there is one decision that the club has already made in terms of next season’s squad that they could come to regret.

34-year-old striker, Jordan Rhodes was released upon the expiry of his contract this summer, and subsequently signed for Blackpool on a permanent deal after he impressed on loan at Bloomfield Road last season.

The Tangerines will be absolutely delighted, but Huddersfield should certainly have considered keeping him around.

Jordan Rhodes’ 2023/24 season

Rhodes had an exceptional first half of the season after signing a loan deal with League One Blackpool for the full campaign. At times, he absolutely dominated defences across the division and looked a real contender for top goalscorer in the third tier.

In his first 19 league games, the striker scored a whopping 15 goals which included a hat-trick against Reading, and a brace against Carlisle United. He was quickly making Bloomfield Road his stomping ground, scoring 11 goals in his first 10 home league games.

Unfortunately, his second half of the season was not as strong as his first, as he failed to score after Christmas due to spending time on the sidelines through injury. Nevertheless, Rhodes had certainly done enough to win over the ‘Tangerine Army’, leading the club to secure him on a permanent deal this summer.

While Blackpool will be over the moon about signing the forward on a permanent deal, his former club, Huddersfield could easily regret the decision to release him, especially now that they are in the same division as the Tangerines.

Huddersfield should have kept Rhodes around

It may have come as a surprise to many when they read Huddersfield’s released list and saw Jordan Rhodes’ name. Despite being 34-years-old, he has shown that he remains more than capable of scoring regular goals in the third tier following his performances last season at Bloomfield Road.

Huddersfield’s relegation means they will be in the same division as Blackpool next season, and Rhodes could easily come back to haunt them when he comes against his former club.

The Terriers struggled for goals up top last season, with their centre-back Michal Helik being their top-scorer with nine goals to his name, so they will have to strengthen in this area this summer. To save themselves some money, they should have considered Rhodes as a key option, as he clearly still has it in him to score regular goals at this level.

The last time Huddersfield were in League One, Rhodes was their top scorer with a whopping 40 goals in all competitions, and even though this was over a decade, they should have given him one final run out in Michael Duff’s side.

If Neil Crichley can build a solid team around Rhodes next season at Blackpool, they could be real contenders for promotion, which would of course impact Huddersfield’s hopes of success.

The striker still knows how to find the back of the net in the third tier, as seen last season, so the Terriers may live to regret releasing such an experienced and dominant forward.