Huddersfield Town have signed Terrence Kongolo from Monaco for an undisclosed fee, rumoured to be in the region of £17m. The Dutch international joins Town on a permanent basis after an influential loan spell in the second half of last season, where he quickly became a fans’ favourite.
Here are a few of my thoughts on the transfer…
The difference last season
It’s not a coincidence that Town conceded far fewer goals when Kongolo was involved. The left back position had become a source of concern for Town, with Löwe’s form being wobbly and Malone looking erratic. While left back isn’t Kongolo’s preferred position, he adapted to it well and we looked a lot more solid when he came in.
Don’t believe me? Check out this stat:
- Goals conceded per game without Kongolo: 1.63
- Goals conceded per game with Kongolo:1.27
Kongolo made some vital tackles at times, but also showed positional discipline and inspired confidence with his composure on the ball. He’s a classy player and will give Town a stronger defence next season.
Where to play him?
Kongolo’s arrival means that Town now have three high-quality centre backs to choose from alongside Schindler and Zanka. It’ll be interesting to see what system David Wagner plays if all three are fit and available.
It could be that Kongolo is adapted into a fullback and plays down the left in the 4-2-3-1 system Town usually play. Otherwise we may see a system playing three at the back, which was experimented with at times last year.
I’d expect Zanka will return to preseason late, given his World Cup commitments, so it’s likely Kongolo will partner Schindler in a standard back four initially. When Zanka’s rested and back up to fitness it could be that Wagner changes the system.
Choosing Huddersfield over Monaco
Monaco is famously referred to as the playground of the rich and famous. Huddersfield is not. While I’m sure decent wages and the promise of playing regularly will have been Kongolo’s primary reasons for coming, I’m impressed that Town’s backroom team managed to convince him to make the switch to Yorkshire from the French Riviera.
I’m sure his loan spell will have given him chance to sample the delights of Martson’s chicken, Merrie England’s gloopy orange juice, the Monday Market, and all the other unique charms Huddersfield has to offer. Even still, I’m not sure I’d have made the same decision in Kongolo’s place. I’d probably be happy to soak up the sun in France and be a backup player for a top European team.
Kongolo’s choice to come to Huddersfield shows he’s clearly hungry to play football and isn’t afraid of working hard to get where he wants to be. He’s also aware of how much he’ll be loved by the Town fans here too, which I’m sure will have been a factor in his choice to return to West Yorkshire.
Imagine being Terence Kongolo & moving permanently from Monaco to Huddersfield 😳 pic.twitter.com/jyjy70ocTq
— Joël Grimal (@FFP83) June 8, 2018
What next for Town in the transfer market?
Town have broken their transfer record again on Kongolo. If he’d not played for Town previously this may seem steep for a player that failed to establish himself at Monaco last season, but in the current transfer market the fee seems like a good deal for a top player.
I hope the next move in the transfer market will be to bring in a couple of wingers. Ramadan Sobhi has been widely rumoured to be on the brink of signing for a while now, so he could come in any minute (though the World Cup may get in the way). He strikes me as a relatively cheap option, so I’d hope we might still have some money in the pot for a bigger signing that will be able to add some creativity to the final third.
This transfer window has seen Town linked to some impressive names in world football, but some of the rumours don’t ring true. For example, I can’t see us competing with Liverpool for Shaqiri, given the amounts they can afford to offer in wages. I think it’s more likely we’ll bring in players from abroad that want to make a name for themselves in the Premier League.
https://twitter.com/SpiritTerrier/status/10053921076941824003
Great piece again.
Cheers Stephen