A Huddersfield Town fan’s view on Juninho Bacuna’s move to Glasgow Rangers

Juninho Bacuna has left Huddersfield Town to join Rangers. The Curacao international has been on the sidelines at Huddersfield Town since it emerged the club wanted to move him on and he has had to train with the academy rather than with the first team. 

I have a feeling he’ll do well at Rangers and it could be one of those transfers that we later regret. On the other hand, Bacuna has been frustrating to watch at times, so reasons I’ll delve into later. 

Here’s my view on Bacuna’s move to Rangers in more detail:

What is Juninho Bacuna good at? 

Bacuna, or Bacca as he is often called, is an attack-minded central midfielder that is capable of covering a variety of other positions. He’s one of those players that can produce a moment of magic in a boring game and make things happen in the final third. 

He has scored a few thunderbolts from outside the box while at Huddersfield Town and can deliver a decent dead ball (though not always consistently). I think his biggest asset is his skill with the ball at his feet, he can dribble, pass or shoot when he gets into the final third and on his day can be almost unplayable. 

His fitness is another major asset of his, as he was one of the few Huddersfield Town players to make it through last season without a significant injury absence despite the congested fixture list and our head coaches ruinously intense training regime. He is deceptively hard working when he wants to be too, he covers a remarkable distance when he plays but this isn’t always obvious because he has a tendency to stroll around looking disinterested when he’s not sprinting but he still covers a lot of ground in a typical game. 

What are his weaknesses?

Bacuna’s biggest weakness is between his ears, as he’s got all the fundamentals of a top player but doesn’t consistently show it. He blows very hot and cold, and his attitude is questionable when things aren’t going for him. He can be brilliant on his day but his bad games can be awful, making watching him frustrating. 

His discipline can be dodgy too. He’s one of those players that likes to play on the edge but too often he loses his rag and picks up silly bookings. I’m surprised he’s only been sent off once in his time at Huddersfield Town but there have been a few occasions when he’s been subbed because the red mist has descended. 

One of the things I find really annoying about him is a strange tendency to get caught up in petty battles with opposition players where he’ll deliberately hold the ball too long in order to get into a wrestling match with a player he has a beef with. He’s excellent at drawing fouls in these scenarios but often misses chances to move the ball quickly and open up a team because he’s got a grievance to settle. 

Another reason I’ve not particularly taken to Bacuna despite his obvious talent is his tendency to always want to be the star of the show. Rather than simply pass it to an available teammate, he’ll try to dribble through three opposition players. He’s capable of pulling off some astonishing passes and his skill and strength means he’ll usually beat his man but his decision making is poor, often looking for a Hollywood pass rather when the five-yard square ball is the better option. Which again goes back to my original point about his biggest barrier being himself. 

Why is he leaving Huddersfield Town? 

Aside from the frustrations listed above, the principal reason Bacuna is being moved on is money. He was signed during our spell in the Premier League so is likely to be on a decent wage and is also one of the players we can bring in a fee for, though it’s likely to be under his true value given he’s only a year left on his contract.

While I don’t know exactly what is going on behind the scenes at the club, I’d be willing to speculate that Bacuna isn’t happy that the club exercised their option to extend his contract by an extra year at the end of last season despite the chairman publicly stating he was going to be moved on. I have a suspicion he hoped he’d be allowed to leave at the end of his contract and therefore attract a bigger wage and signing on fee as a free agent but the club triggered his extension so they could get a bit of their money back on him.

How will he get on at Rangers? 

I think moving to Rangers could be a very good move for Bacuna and Rangers. He’s the kind of player that’s suited to being a big fish in a small pond and could quite quickly become a star player at that level. Being in a team that wins most weeks and has a lot of the ball will suit him and I can imagine him getting quite a few goals. 

I’m not convinced he’ll be as good in European competition, where the standard will be higher but he has played in the Premier League for Huddersfield Town, so has experience against top quality teams. 

As I’ve mentioned above, Bacuna is a player that can blow hot and cold, if he hits the ground running I can see the fans taking to him and him really kicking on. If things don’t go his way initially then some of his more frustrating tendencies may emerge and fans might get annoyed with him. 

Given Steven Gerrard was an incredible midfielder in his playing days, I can see him being able to help Bacuna improve his game. He’s still young enough to get better and in the right environment could produce a lot more than he’s shown in his time at Huddersfield Town.

TerrierSpirit.com opinion on this transfer 

I’m not particularly sad to see Bacuna go, he’s had some great moments at Huddersfield but also has been the source of a lot of frustration. I can see him being one of those players that goes on to achieve a lot more away from Huddersfield than they did while at the club but there’s nothing we can do about that. 

He’s a quality player but is possibly too much of an individual to fit into the current team-based approach we’ve had under Carlos Corberan at Town. I wish him all the best for the future and will keenly follow his progress north of the border.