Huddersfield Town have signed Scott Malone, 26, from Fulham for an undisclosed fee believed to be around £3.2m. The left back signed a three-year contract with the Terriers having an option to add an extra year if they wish.
Town fans may remember his goal-scoring performance for Fulham in April 2016, where he absolutely destroyed us. While Joe Lolley’s suspect positioning helped him, Malone marauded up and down the left wing that day and caused us a great deal of misery.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a full-back so consistently make a winger look silly as that day. I’d genuinely like to see Joe Lolley’s reaction when they meet each other on the training ground for the first time.
What kind of a player is Malone?
As mentioned above, Malone is a modern type of left back that likes to bomb forward. He can also play as a left-sided midfielder so he should suit David Wagner’s style that involves getting the full-backs high up the pitch and providing width to attacks.
He’s just had arguably the best year of his career at Fulham, keeping hot prospect Ryan Sessegnon out of the Fulham team because of his consistently high-quality performances. He was also named in the Championship team of the season. Fulham fans see him as a workhorse, who covers a lot of ground and puts in a proper shift.
History
I hate to call Malone a journey man, but his playing history involves quite a few clubs. He started his career at Southend United, making 17 appearances. Then in 2010, he played at Burton Albion for a season, Bournemouth the year after and then he moved to Millwall in 2011.
He stayed at Millwall for three seasons, his longest spell at any club, before moving to Cardiff in 2014. Two seasons in Cardiff were enough for him and he packed up his bags and moved to Fulham in the summer of 2016.
So I’m guessing Scott Malone is an expert at moving house by now. Let’s hope he’s ready to settle down for a while now he’s arrived at Huddersfield. He’s played for 7 different clubs at the age of 26, so it seems like he could do with putting down some roots.
Fans opinion
Malone leaving Fulham means they’re able to give more game time to the highly-rated Ryan Sessegnon in the left back position but some fans are concerned. Despite the promise shown from Sessegnon, one fan felt that Malone is an irreplaceable workhorse down the left wing.
Another fan on the Fulhamweb forum said: “Cant work out why Malone has gone, utter madness a good tough player never let any one down”. So it seems like he was well liked at Fulham and they’re sad to see him go despite having a ready-made replacement in their team already.
How will he fit in
Reading the Fulhamweb forum comments about Malone makes it clear that this guy works hard. He puts in a lot of running and likes to get forward whenever he can. This is just the kind of full-back that David Wagner likes and he’ll surely be encouraged to support the attackers when Town have the ball.
Whether he’ll come in as our first choice left-back is hard to know. Chris Löwe had an incredible first season at Town last year and he’ll not want to lose his starting position to Malone. It may be that Malone has to wait to get his chance in the Premier League.
Terrier Spirit opinion
I’m not sure how Malone will fit in at Town. On paper, he looks like a good signing and Fulham fans are gushing in their praise for him. There’s every chance he’ll settle in well and become a mainstay in the team. I’m not all that certain.
He’s just had a great season at Fulham in the Championship but will he be able to replicate that form in the Premier League? Will he buy into Wagner’s vision and join in with the atmosphere around the club right now? Possibly he will but I’m not certain.
So I feel less confident about Malone than I do of some of Town’s other signings. But it’s hard for me to define exactly why. In any case, I’ll be cheering him on and hoping to see the best in him.