A PE teacher has today said he always knew former Ipswich Town striker Jordan Rhodes would do well.

Selling Rhodes has been widely regarded as one of the biggest mistakes ITFC has made in recent years.

The Huddersfield marksman, now thought to be worth close to �5million, was sold by former boss Roy Keane in 2009 for an undisclosed fee, which is thought to have been �400,000.

And after Rhodes secured promotion to the Championship with the Terriers at the weekend, his former PE teacher at Kesgrave High School, Chris Finch, admitted he always believed the striker would go on to big things.

Mr Finch, 35, said: “From very early on you could tell that he was a cut above the rest of his peer group when it came to football.

“You could see he had a talent. He wasn’t very flashy, he did the simple things well and never gave the ball away.

“As soon as he got the ball, you knew that something could happen – he just did the simple things and did them well.”

Rhodes, 22, has scored 40 goals for Huddersfield this season and he has been watched by a number of Championship and Premier League clubs.

Among those touted as being interested in the striker are Everton, Aston Villa and newly-promoted West Ham, who it is rumoured have failed with a �5m bid for the striker.

Mr Finch admitted he is not shocked that Rhodes has found himself on the radar of several high-profile clubs.

“I always felt Jordan was going to make it and the fact that he was playing for Ipswich was brilliant.

“When he was sold it was a big shock and we were very disappointed but looking back at it, dropping down a division meant he had regular football,” he said.

“It has been good for him but unfortunately not for Ipswich.

“What a proud moment that will be for Kesgrave if he gets to the Premier League. It will be fantastic to see him on the TV screen.”