Departure of Wells heralds the end of a record-breaking window in Yorkshire
Huddersfield one of the busiest clubs in Yorkshire as region’s teams keep pace with a hectic summer transfer market, as Richard Sutcliffe reports.
AFTER A summer of unprecedented transfer spending in Yorkshire football, the final hours of the window were a relatively low-key affair for the county.
Nahki Wells left Huddersfield Town for Burnley in a £5m deal that will earn the striker’s former club Bradford City a welcome cash windfall courtesy of a 15 per cent sell-on clause.
But, otherwise, deadline day saw little hint of the big-money deals that had earlier in the month seen the likes of Britt Assombalonga, Steve Mounie, Aaron Mooy and Jordan Rhodes arrive in the Broad Acres.
Nor were there any big departures at the eleventh hour to compare with the £15m sales of Hull City duo Sam Clucas and Harry Maguire, plus Leeds United striker Chris Wood.
Clubs were frantically scrambling to beat the 11pm deadline with Sheffield Wednesday striking a late swap deal that saw Sam Winnall move to Derby County on loan as Jacob Butterfield headed north to Hillsborough.
Hull were also attempting to bring in Fikayo Tomori, the Chelsea defender, and Leicester City’s Ahmed Musa after a day of delays and hold-ups, while Sheffield United snapped up Clayton Donaldson from Birmingham on a permanent deal. Despite this hectic finale, yesterday proved to be something of a damp squib both here in Yorkshire and across the country.
That, though, couldn’t stop this being a record-breaking window for the White Rose county in terms of spending on transfer fees.
Huddersfield, their pockets filled with TV cash following promotion, led the way with a net spend of around £32.5m – the ninth highest in the Premier League.
Wells’ switch to Turf Moor put a late dent to that figure, much to the relief of Bradford who will now receive an additional payment on top of the £1.875m already banked from the striker’s 2014 transfer.
Elsewhere, Leeds United yesterday took their number of summer signings to 15 with the capture of Malmo winger Pawel Cibicki and Pierre-Michel Lasogga, the Hamburg striker having joined on a season long loan deal. A deal to sign Lasogga had been in doubt due to the German’s £50,000 per week wages but The Yorkshire Post understands the Bundesliga outfit agreed to pay a substantial percentage to smooth his departure.
Middlesbrough, the other big spenders in the county, also brought in a late addition as Marvin Johnson signed from Oxford United for £2.5m. As Johnson left the Kassam Stadium, Alex Mowatt was on his way to the U’s on a season-long loan deal after a disappointing first year at Oakwell for the former Leeds midfielder.
Sheffield United brought Ben Heneghan, a 23-year-old defender from Motherwell, in on a three-year deal after agreeing an undisclosed fee with the Scottish club.
Heading out of Bramall Lane was John Brayford, the one-time £1.5m signing having his contract cancelled by mutual consent before being reunited with Nigel Clough at Burton Albion.
All three of the county’s representatives in League One were active in the final 24 hours of the window as Doncaster Rovers made a double loan swoop for Chelsea midfielder Jordan Houghton and Harry Toffolo, the Norwich City defender.
Rotherham United signed Brentford defender Manny Onariase on a two-year deal as Andre Belaid had his contract at the New York Stadium cancelled by mutual consent, while joining Bradford City on a short term contract until January is goalkeeper Lukas Raeder. The 23-year-old, once on the books of Bayern Munich, had a trial at Newcastle United earlier this summer following his release by Vitoria Setubal.
HUDDERSFIELD TOWN’S lofty position in the fledgling Premier League suggests that David Wagner has been the big winner of Yorkshire’s transfer window for the second consecutive summer.
A firm advocate of getting his business done early, the 45-yearold had the vast majority of his signings in place before the Terriers’ pre-season programme got under way.
It was an identical story a year ago when 12 of Town’s 13 signings had joined by mid-July – meaning the newcomers, many from abroad, had plenty of time to familiarise themselves with English football and Wagner’s particular way of doing things.
Wagner’s approach paid off handsomely, as eight wins from the opening 11 games laid the foundations for one of the more unlikely promotions of the Premier League era.
An unbeaten start this time around, albeit after just three games, suggests such decisiveness in the marketplace is again paying dividends and the Town chief credits shopping trips with Mrs Wagner over the years as his inspiration.
“I am not like my wife sometimes is,” he says with the hearty laugh that has become the German’s trademark since arriving in this country 21 months ago. “If we go into the city centre and she finds something in the first shop, we have to wait until we go to 20 further shops and then we go back to the first shop and buy what she found first.
“I am totally clear and am able to make decisions – if I know this is the right one, I buy him.
“For me, it is always important if I am able to identify the target that then I sign the target.”
Judging by the flurry of activity across the county in the last few days, Wagner’s early-bird mindset in the transfer market is one that others should copy.
Certainly, Hull City could pick up a few pointers from the affable German after a typically busy end to the window.
Not quite as frantic as a year ago when half a dozen signings were made at the end of a desperate summer that had seen Steve Bruce quit, but, still, there are few clubs who buy into the drama of deadline day like the Tigers.
Last night was spent trying to get deals for Fikayo Tomori, a Chelsea defender, and Leicester City’s Ahmed Musa over the line. After snaring Jackson Irvine and Nouha Dicko a few days after Jon Toral and Stephen Kingsley had joined for £3m apiece, Leonid Slutsky at least has a competitive squad capable of surprising a few in this season’s Championship.
If Hull fans, who must have feared the worst amid the procession of big name stars sold earlier in the summer, can be pleased about that then those whose loyalties lie with Middlesbrough should be ecstatic.
Much has been made about the sums lavished at the Riverside with Britt Assombalonga signed for £15m and the likes of Ashley Fletcher, Martin Braithwaite, Jonny Howson, Darren Randolph and Ryan Shotton arriving for big fees.
But decent money was also recouped with the sales of Gaston Ramirez and Marten de Roon raising a combined £23m, meaning a decent chunk of the outlay that has left the squad much better equipped for the Championship has been offset.
Leeds United have also been busy, yesterday’s double swoop for Pawel Cibicki and PierreMichel Lasogga taking their tally of incomings to 15.
Many of the new arrivals at Elland Road may have been so unknown that Google was the first port of call for supporters and, it should be said, many in the press, but Ezgjan Alioski and Samuel Saiz’s early impact suggests a couple of diamonds have been unearthed. The only fear is whether Chris Wood’s goals can be adequately replaced following his £15m exit.
Elsewhere in the Championship, Barnsley lost an integral player for the third window running as Marc Roberts joined Birmingham City, but there have also been some decent additions.
Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder has also done well with the funds at his disposal, Clayton Donaldson easing the burden on Billy Sharp for goals.
Across the Steel City it has been unusually quiet compared to previous windows under Dejphon Chansiri, as the ramifications of Financial Fair Play – whereby clubs cannot lose more than £39m over three years – began to bite.
Nevertheless, the £8m deal that made Jordan Rhodes’s switch permanent means Wednesday joined Huddersfield and Middlesbrough in having set a new transfer record this summer.
In League One, the county’s spending levels dipped markedly, but Bradford City still invested around £400,000 on Jake Reeves, Dominic Poleon and Shay McCartan, while Jamie Proctor arrived at Rotherham United for £75,000 only to be ruled out for the season yesterday with a serious knee injury.
It underlined just how difficult recruitment can be, with Huddersfield chief Wagner – who has spent a little under £40m since clinching promotion in May – admitting he feels the pressure of spending a club’s money very, very keenly.
He said: “I said this to the chairman very early after we met, ‘I will spend your money like it is my own money and I don’t like to waste my own money’. From the moment I signed my contract, I accepted the responsibility and that has not changed because we are now in the Premier League.
“We have spent more money now than we have done before, but it is different because the financial power of our competitors means we are not able to search in the same shops.”