The transfer window slams shut tonight at 11pm and many Town fans will be hoping to see some new faces between now and then. But who are Town looking to bring in?
Here’s a roundup of all the latest rumours involving Huddersfield Town.
Lee Gregory from Stoke
The 32-year-old striker has struggled at Stoke and has suffered a persistent groin injury, so it’s not a huge surprise that this rumour hasn’t set pulses racing. However, he’s got experience of the Championship and has previously been highly rated.
Given that Fraizer Campbell is knocking on in years and Danny Ward is currently plagued by niggling injuries, it makes sense to get in another striker but Gregory doesn’t represent the statement of intent many fans are hoping for. On the other hand, our recruitment team have tended to pick the right players so far this season, so I’ll get behind him if he does arrive.
Free agent Jayson Leutwiler
Another rumour that fails to give fans butterflies in their tummies is Jayson Leutwiler who recently left Fleetwood and is looking for a club. This would most likely be experienced backup for Schofield rather than genuine competition for the number one shirt and would mean we’re not relying solely on Pereira if Schofield gets injured.
This rumour feels so boring that it must be true. Hamer was on too much money to be warming the bench but this chap will most likely be an affordable insurance policy in case there are any issues with Schofield.
Apparently Bolton are also interested but are likely to be less attractive an option because they’re in a lower league than Town.
Lukas Jutkiewicz from Birmingham
Another former player that has been linked with a move to Town. Apparently Birmingham are willing to listen to offers and we’re exclusively scouting players from our own season review DVDs from years past so there’s a logic to this rumour.
My enduring memory of Jukiewicz’s disappointing loan spell at Town was him having a little paddy and chucking his shirt at Lee Clark after being subbed following another below-par performance.
He’s a different proposition now than the gangly teen that played for us before. He’s regularly bullied our back line over the years with his physical presence and has scored a few against us too.
He’s not exactly prolific and is the wrong side of thirty so isn’t the kind of player we should break the bank to sign but would be an interesting alternative option up front if we did sign him.
Elijah Adeboyo from Walsall
This rumour has died down a bit but on Friday we were heavily linked and a bid of £250,000 was rumoured to have been made, which seemed fairly high for a League Two player who is out of contract in the summer.
With a full name like Elijah Anuoluwapo Oluwaferanmi Oluwatomi Oluwalana Ayomikulehin Adebayo it would mean we would surely have the player with the longest name in the football league but there are better reasons to sign him. For starters he’s scored ten goals already this season and at 23, he’s got his best years ahead of him but experienced enough to most likely be better in the Championship than our youngsters in the B Team.
This would be an interesting signing and I suspect would be more with an eye to the future rather than improving our immediate prospects on the pitch as there would be a period of adjustment to get used to the Championship after playing in League Two.
What about players leaving Town?
There’s a surprising lack of talk about players moving in the opposite direction. Alex Pritchard and Jaden Brown were linked with moves earlier in the window but both stories have since fizzled out since.
Personally, I’d like to see a few of our better youth team players loaned out to League One and Two teams. The club might be reluctant to let too many go though, as we’ve been relying on many of these youngsters to plug the gaps in our squad when injuries have hit.
Adama Diakhaby is a player that would leave few fans shedding tears if he left but his current injury means he’s unlikely to be able to pass a medical even if we could find a club willing to take a punt on the quick but limited winger.
So, in summary, it seems likely to be fairly quiet in terms of departures unless unexpected late bids come in for inflated amounts of money.
Thanks for putting this day in perspective. I think in a nutshell you could say it’s likely to be a damp squib. Looking at that list of names, even that may be an overstatement.
Yes I’ve followed the rumours but now to read them all in one place, well there’s not one name that get my juices flowing. I can’t believe any of them would be on Carlos’ wish list. It’s equally depressing that nobody seems to want any of our players! I thought we might at least have to fight off a bid or two for Toffolo or O’Brien but it rather indicates that their recent form isn’t exciting the scouts any more than it is us.
Incidentally, I hadn’t thought this through until reading your piece – is there no actual scouting going on due to the coronavirus so clubs are limited to their own video archives plus what they see on the telly? I guess that must be so. No wonder there’s no rumours of foreign players coming in as they’d be into quarantine.
Personally I’d let today pass by. Rev the squad up for the battles ahead and keep our fingers crossed that we’ll pick up enough points to stay clear of trouble.
Good article again terrier & I pretty much agree with you again, having looked at players we are being linked with the frustration is setting in again especially with who our divisional rivals are signing or looking at, I agree with you the lad from Walsall is one for the future & I’m not over impressed with the lad from Ipswich so for me either Gregory or jutkiewicz both on a short term contract & either won’t break the bank, a quick fix to get us to the end of the season, Over the last 2 games I have seen 8 or so really good crosses put onto the edge of the six yard box a strikers dream so all we need is someone to get on the end of them plus it will be composition for Campbell
Well one of them has happened. Jayson Leutwiler is now a Town player and he appears to have trained with them all last week to glowing reports. Scofield hasn’t filled me with confidence the last few matches so Leutwiler might be in sooner than later.
Isaac Success on a loan from Watford is also now muted as a possibility. That’s what we need Success up front!
Disappointing that Town did not celebrate transfer deadline day, looks like the money went on Hoggy’s new contract, the only thing Town fans have now is hope, Hope that we get our so called better players back from injury, Hope that we get the other few wins to keep the Lg1 wolf from the door, Hope that the detractors stop targeting Fraizer Campbell and let him keep giving the 110% he gives every game, Hope that our Chairmans arms don’t get shorter and his pockets longer, and Hope for the end of the pandemic so we can get the fans back in the stadium, some decent stuff written on here, please lets keep away from being personal, and concentrate on our great club. UTT. (thanks terrier)
Disappointing? An understatement, David. I’m gutted and just a tiny bit cross! We don’t know whether all the rumours yesterday were true but even if they were 50% accurate, there was a lot of last-minute desperation and to no avail. Pretty pathetic if you ask me. I’ve no idea where responsibility lies but wherever it is, that person needs to take a long hard look at himself and ‘consider his position’.