JORDAN RHODES will not be returning to Middlesbrough at the end of the season despite Aitor Karanka’s departure from the Riverside Stadium.

Boro’s new head coach Steve Agnew has a good relationship with his nephew, Rhodes, and was a key man when the player moved from Blackburn 14 months ago.

But Rhodes was allowed to join Sheffield Wednesday on the final day of the transfer window and, despite concerns the deadline was missed, he completed a loan until the end of the campaign.

There is an agreement already in place that will automatically see the loan move become a permanent deal in the summer - when Sheffield Wednesday will have to pay an initial £9m which could rise depending on promotion to the Premier League.

The temporary terms led to Middlesbrough fans wondering if the Scotland international can return to Teesside at the end of the campaign after Karanka’s exit last week.

However, a source close to the club said: “Jordan’s move is a loan and will become a permanent deal. It will become a permanent move at the end of the season. He will not be coming back.”

Middlesbrough only have two strikers going into the final ten Premier League games after the sales of Rhodes and David Nugent. Patrick Bamford, who also arrived in January, prefers to play there but is completely out of favour and tends to play wide. 

Alvaro Negredo has been the preference to start, while Rudy Gestede moved from Aston Villa in January in a £6m deal.

Negredo is only on a season-long loan from Valencia and there is an option of a £10m permanent deal, although the chances of that being triggered will be affected by Middlesbrough’s Premier League status.

Gestede, a former team-mate of Rhodes at Blackburn, has proven himself in the second tier before so he is at least an option regardless of what division Middlesbrough are in next season.

If Middlesbrough are unable to preserve top-flight status then Rhodes would have been ideal for the Championship, having proven himself at that level for a number of years.

The 26-year-old struggled to convince Karanka he deserved to start games under his watch. He only made six appearances in the Premier League before he was moved on in January.

Agnew will be doing what he can to keep Middlesbrough in the top-flight after being handed the chance to prove he deserves the role for the long term by chairman Steve Gibson.

He faces having to eradicate a five-point gap that exists to safety in the remaining five six weeks of the campaign and Middlesbrough’s chances could hinge on what happens at Swansea a week on Sunday.

If Middlesbrough can leave South Wales with a point they could be just one victory from climbing out of the bottom three.

But Swansea manager Paul Clement is not getting too downbeat after back-to-back defeats to Hull and Bournemouth which have raised relegation fears once more.

Clement said: “I think we have to reflect on the bigger picture. At the start of January we were rock bottom and were only on 12 points. With nine games to go we are 17th and that is the target for us.

“If we finish higher than that it will be a bonus. We now have two home games. Bournemouth have shown what can happen when you string two results together, it has given them that breathing space, now it’s our turn.

“We have four away games and five at home, we have to respond quickly and the game against Middlesbrough is a very, very big game.

“A few games ago we had back-to-back wins against Liverpool and Southampton, it changes things quickly. I am not concerned by the performance, more some of the errors but things have got to get better.”