Another loan star would be ideal for the Terriers
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L F A Pts 7 73 34 96 9 61 30 88 7 76 41 84 11 56 37 80 12 73 44 77 14 56 48 77 14 60 52 69 14 65 48 67 16 54 54 65 17 55 50 64 13 46 46 62 17 40 49 62 21 47 55 58 16 48 52 57 19 60 52 54 17 36 43 52 19 43 60 52 19 35 56 52 24 45 65 51 pect to sit among the substitutes Brahima Diarra seems as likely as anyone else.
Ryan Schofield; Rarmani EdmondsGreen, Richard Keogh, Naby Sarr, Aaron Rowe; Scott High, Jonathan Hogg, Lewis O’Brien; Rolando Aarons, Danny Ward, Josh Koroma. Subs: Joel Pereira, Tommy Elphick, Richard Stearman, Juninho Bacuna, Brahima Diarra, Carel Eiting, Duane Holmes, Sorba Thomas, Yaya Sanogo.
FOR the past two years on our podcast Ooh To Be A..., our regular analyst David Hartrick has spoken of Huddersfield Town’s need to bring in a signing who makes the fans feel ‘fizzy’.
Over that period, arguably the only player who has ticked that box has been Arsenal loanee Emile Smith Rowe, and even then he was a 19-year-old with not a lot of senior minutes under his belt, there was good reason to withhold judgement.
Ajax’s Carel Eiting should have had that effect too, but the announcement of his arrival came in the hours following a 3-0 defeat at Brentford that had fans worried about just what lay ahead.
And the notion that Town were exploring the Brazilian league for potential signings ahead of the last January window also captured the imagination, however briefly.
In truth, Town could recruit perfectly well this summer without going out of their way to hit the
‘get fans excited’ button.
Indeed, it’s our contention that they should be looking for lesserknown gems hungry to make their way up the divisions or make a splash after coming into the
English game for the first time.
Above all else, Town need much better squad depth, and with plenty of outs expected alongside the ins, that means looking for large numbers of bargains, rather than irresponsibly blowing their whole budget on one player.
And yet...as important as that recruitment job is, nobody is going to swoon at the idea of signing a second-choice right-back, though, or break into a sprint on their way back home so they can join their family in celebrating the arrival of a centre-back.
It would not solve everything overnight, of course, but after all the misgivings and criticism of how the club have performed over the past three years, there is a sense that a big statement signing to lift the spirits and inject a bit of belief could go a long way.
That’s doubly true if key players like Lewis O’Brien or Harry Toffolo were to attract offers the club could not afford to refuse.
It is something of a myth that loan players are necessarily cheap, with the parent clubs often requiring the borrowing club to cover the hefty wages that even unproven players can command in the top flight - but with big transfer fees likely to be off the table, a Premier League loanee still seems like Town’s most likely way to make a statement of intent.
If they can unearth another Emile Smith Rowe, another Aaron Mooy, another Peter Ndlovu, it could have a profound effect on what Corberan is able to ask his side to do...or at very least, get fans dreaming that it might.