Odd deal structure and Derby fans’ anger adds interest to Duane Holmes arrival at Huddersfield Town

After over a week of speculation he was on the verge of signing, Huddersfield Town have finally announced the acquisition of Duane Holmes from Derby County. As usual, both clubs have said the deal involves an “undisclosed fee” but  Ryan Conway of The Athletic has tweeted about the structure of the deal.

Conway suggest that there is no upfront fee involved in the arrangement between Derby and Town, instead there are triggers agreed that will lead to payments down the line if certain milestones are met.

What are the triggers that will lead to fees being due?

There are no details about what these specific triggers are but it’s likely they will be based upon Holmes having a successful career at Huddersfield Town. So things like appearances, goals and assists could all be reasons for us to have to pay something for the player. Milestones could also be set for Town’s achievements, suchas if we finish in the top-half of the league or avoid relegation.

This seems like a good deal for Town as we should only end up spending money on the player if he actually performs for us, like a bet we can’t lose. As Duane Holmes is going to be out of contract at Derby in the summer it will have diminished their negotiating position, particularly as Wayne Rooney has made it clear that Holmes isn’t part of his plans on the pitch.

This deal reminds me of when we signed Nakhi Wells from Bradford and their fans would insist they were getting millions of pounds for every goal he scored. This theory was never confirmed to my knowledge but City fans were adamant that we ended up giving them significant sums every time Wells did something of note. I can’t imagine this deal for Holmes will involve vast sums of cash even if all the triggers are met but it will at least mean we only have to pay when he’s producing the goods.

Is there a sell-on clause included in the deal

The Athletic report that Derby’s late request for a sell-on fee potentially scuppered the deal until they eventually relented. So if the reports are to believed, there will be no sell on percentage for Derby if we sell Holmes in the future.

This attempt to change the deal late in the day may explain why Holmes was expected to be signed in the middle of last week but wasn’t confirmed until today. If true, it’s also another example of out current board being willing to be patient with a deal to make sure the terms suit them.

As fans it can be frustrating to have to wait around for confirmation of a transfer when it’s been widely rumoured to be close to being finalised for days and days but it’s only right that the club hold out for terms that suit them.

Why are some Derby fans angry with Holmes?

A section of Derby’s fans have been left unimpressed with Holme’s interview with HTTV following his signing. In the video he explains how he told Leigh Bromby he was keen on a return to Huddersfield in a behind closed doors game between Derby and Town earlier in the season.

While it’s not the most professional thing to do, to hawk yourself to clubs executives at friendly games, it’s hardly the crime of the century. Some Derby fans on Twitter were livid and accused Holmes of being a snake when they heard the interview. As his contract was running down it seems fairly obvious that he would be thinking about his next move and I expect these kind of conversations are common place for footballers.

Duane’s only mistake is to talk publicly about the overtures he made towards Town while still a Derby player. It’ll be fun to see what kind of reaction he gets when we next play Derby when fans are back in stadiums. I suspect he’ll get a warm reception from some Rams fans.

It’s worth adding that many Derby fans have wished him well and most are sad it didn’t work out for him there. For whatever reason, it seems like things haven’t clicked got him this season but it’s clear he’s done well in previous seasons at Derby.

Is he ready for murderball?

I found Wayne Rooney’s recent comments about Holmes interesting. He said that Holmes was dropped from the team for footballing reasons and suggested he wasn’t trying hard enough in training.

If this is true then it will surely be a shock to his system when he has to adjust to the intensity of Town’s training. Virtually every player interview these days includes reference to how hard they are expected to work in training and often comments are made about the punishing nature of the murderball sessions, which involve the ball being constantly in play and coaches screaming instructions at the players to run faster (there most likely more to it than that but that’s how it looks on the training videos).

Many Town players have struggled with the higher intensity training that Corberán has brought in and its common for muscle injuries to crop up in a new player’s first few weeks. So I wouldn’t be stunned if Holmes already has a bed booked in the treatment room for the almost inevitable hamstring injury he’s likely to soon pick up.

TerrierSpirit.com opinion on the Holmes’ deal

I think this looks like a good bit of business for Town. Holmes is just coming into his prime at 26 years old and has a decent amount of experience at Championship level. His goals and assists record isn’t amazing and it sounds like his form has been poor this season at Derby but he’s a quality player and provides some creativity and spark in midfield that we desperately need.

All transfers are a gamble but this feels like a relatively low-risk one with potential for it work very well if Carlos is able to improve Holmes and make him better than he was at Derby.

It does concern me that we’ve signed another short midfielder when we’ve already got an obvious lack of height in that area of the pitch. While we might not need big lads to play tiki taka, free-flowing, attacking football, we do need some players capable of defending set pieces and hoofed balls. Holmes isn’t as lightweight and as easy to push off the ball as he was in his previous spell at Town but he’s also not going to be clearing high balls into the box either.

I was sad to see Duane Holmes leave and I’m glad he’s going to get another chance to prove himself at the club where he grew up and learned his trade. It’s sensible to not expect too much from his too soon but he seems like a quality addition in an area of the pitch where we’re really short on numbers right now.