There are gaps in Huddersfield Town’s squad – here’s where they are

Now we’re only one week away from the start of the Championship season open against Burnley in front of the Sky cameras, I thought it might be interesting to see what shape the squad is in. Here’s a quick look at how each position in the squad is looking. 

Goalkeeper

• Nicholls
• Schofield
• Bilokapic / Chapman / Bellagambi / Roxburgh 

Obviously our first choice is superb but then the remaining options are a bit of a worry. It may be one or more of the B Team lads are ready to step up to be the main cover for Nicholls but otherwise we need senior backup before the season starts as Schofield hasn’t been seen in preseason. I presume he’s not recovered from the injury he had last season but this hasn’t been officially confirmed by the club. 

Right back 

• Ollie Turton 
• Brodie Spencer 
• (Aaron Rowe) 

Pipa leaving makes Turton the clear first choice in this position at the club but Brodie Spencer has already won an international cap for Northern Ireland so it’s hard not to have sky high expectations for the youngster. If he fails, there’s Aaron Rowe who has done a reasonable job in that position and Matty Pearson can come across and cover too, so I don’t think we’ll miss Pipa too much, particularly as he was out injured most of last season anyway.

Central defence

• Matty Pearson
• Tom Lees
• Rarmani Edmonds-Green
• Will Boyle
• Yuta Nakayama
• (Jonathan Hogg)

Central defence looks to be pretty well stocked too. Pearson and Lees were the mainstays of our defence last season and it will be a tough task for REG and Boyle to force them out of the starting lineup. The World Cup break in November means the fixture schedule is even more congested than usual this year though, so I’m sure everyone will get a chance at some point though. For completeness I’ve included Nakayama and Hogg but I have a feeling they’ll be more likely to feature at left back and central midfield respectively unless injuries bite but that could change depending on what kind of defensive Schofield likes to play.

Left back

• Josh Ruffels
• Yuta Nakayama
• Ben Jackson

There’s now a Harry Toffolo sized hole in our left back position but Josh Ruffels will be chomping at the bit to step in and prove he can be the first choice. Nakayama will be vying for that same role, so it will be interesting to see who gets the nod next Friday. I suspect Ruffels is the frontrunner, given Nakayama has only just arrived and will have to adjust to English football first. Ben Jackson is listed too, but I have a feeling another loan is in his near future once the club feel confident they won’t need him for the first team between now and Christmas.

Defensive  Midfield

• Jonathan Hogg
• Jon Russell
• David Kasumu
• Etienne Camara

Adding David Kasumu to this area of the field means we now have a range of good options where we looked a bit thin in this area late last season. The new boy adds some energy, bite and aggression to this area of the pitch. 

There are occasions where it looks like Jonathan Hogg’s legs look to have gone but then the old war horse manages to find another reserve of energy from somewhere, digs in and puts in a great performance so I am not going to write him off just yet. He won’t play 40 games this season because his hips are shot but he will give everything in the games he can play.

 I’ve included Jon Russell in as a defensive midfielder even though he also played further forward last season too, mostly because he tended to drop deep and play in defensive midfield regardless of where he started on the field. Playing further back makes the most of his ability to read the game, spray balls about the pitch and screen the defense, it also reduces the chances of his complete lack of pace getting exposed.

I’ve added in Etienne Camara as the 19-year-old B Team player has been included with the first team in preseason but I doubt he’ll get much of a look in this season unless there’s an injury crisis. He’s one for the future though and might be sent out on loan to gain experience.

Attacking midfield

• Jack Rudoni
• Duane Holmes
• Scott High
• Brahima Diarra

 I’m less convinced by our option in attacking midfield if I’m being honest. Jack Rudoni is a very exciting prospect and I think he could be brilliant but he’s stepping up a division and we should expect that will mean an adjustment period to begin with. Duane Holmes has a tendency to blow hot and cold. Scott High struggled for long periods last season though, in fairness, looked a lot better later last season in the brief substitute appearances he had played further up field. And Brahima Diarra is very exciting as a youth prospect but rushing him into Championship football could be bad for his development, given his most recent level was League Two Harrogate and he mostly played from cameos from the bench. 

Wingers

• Sorba Thomas
• Connor Mahoney
• Aaron Rowe
• Rolando Aarons
• Danny Grant / Pat Jones

There are loads of options on the wings but Sorba Thomas is the only one that I have any confidence in. Connor Mahoney could prove to be another of those intelligent signings by the recruitment team but at the moment he seems like a slightly odd signing and has a lot to prove. 

Rowe, Aarons and Grant are all coming back from injury ravaged seasons, or in Aarons case an injury ravaged career, so it’s too much to expect them to all stay fit and healthy all season but maybe one or two might keep fit and find a bit of form. 

Then Pat Jones, who looks too young to have a paper round, might be ready to do something for the first team. He was far too young when he got his first taste of mens football a couple of seasons ago but now he may be a bit more ready. He’s ridiculously fast and scores lots of goals for the B Team, maybe he can do that for the first team too. 

Forwards

• Danny Ward
• Jordan Rhodes
• Josh Koroma
• Kieran Phillips

Carlos Corberan expected a lot from his strikers, they were the first defenders and had to cover a lot of ground chasing lost causes before they even thought about scoring goals or getting on the end of chances. It’ll be interesting to see if Danny Schofield insists on the same kind of approach that will have an impact on the players he wants to play up front. 

In terms of option up front. Ward and Rhodes are good Championship-level strikers. They might not set pulses racing when you see them on the team sheet but both can lead the line and finish chances. 

I’ve put Josh Koroma in this area and not as a winger because I think he should be seen as a striker because of his preference for cutting inside and driving and defenders to try and shoot. In fact, he may be better off starting centrally anyway and playing as a second striker.     

Kieran Philips is another of those B Team players that I’ve included in this list to show that we have backups available but I don’t expect him to play many games. He’s not really set the world alight on any of his loan spells so it seems unlikely he’ll be able to get many minutes in the first team this season.

So where are the gaps in the first team?

Like every transfer window since the dinosaurs roamed the earth, Town need a striker. It has ever been this way and it will always be this way. If there is a transfer window then it is safe to assume that Huddersfield Town will need a striker. Maybe it’s the same at all clubs but I can’t think of a time when I haven’t thought Town have needed a striker. Maybe when we had Rhodes, Novak and Alan Lee at the same time, those were good times. 

So, yes, a striker would be nice. We would possibly need to shift Rhodes out to clear room on the wage bill but that would be fine as the big issue in that area is the variety of playing style rather than physical numbers. 

We could also do with a number 10 kind of player that can be the link between midfield and attack. That could potentially be Tino Anjorin that has been heavily linked with a move back to Huddersfield Town (which may even be confirmed by the time you’re reading this). 

We also need a backup keeper or we’re risking having to play one of our untested youngsters or bringing in an emergency loan outside of the usual windows if anything happens to Nicholls. 

Beyond those two key areas, I think a more experienced right back might be nice to compete with Turton but that isn’t essential.