Season at Terriers ‘best of my career’
FORMER Huddersfield Town keeper Jonas Lossl says his first year with the Terriers was the best season of his career.
The Danish ace joined initially on loan from German side Mainz for Town’s first season in the Premier League.
He put in a series of fine displays and kept 10 clean sheets as the Terriers beat the odds and stayed up.
The move was made permanent, but Town endured a miserable relegation campaign in 2018/19 and he left for Everton in the summer of 2019 on a free transfer.
He failed to get a look in at Goodison Park and so returned to Town midway through last season on loan. He featured 15 times under
Danny Cowley as the club achieved their aim of avoiding two successive relegations.
For Lossl, it failed to help him earn recognition back at Everton and in February he returned to his native Denmark to sign for former club FC Midtjylland.
The 32-year-old has been speaking about how his move to Merseyside came about, and he credits goalkeeping coach Hugo Oliveira, who was part of then manager Marco Silva’s staff, for convincing him to sign for Everton.
Oliveira had worked with highprofile keepers Jan Oblak and Ederson earlier in his career – something that impressed the Dane.
Speaking to the Athletic, Lossl said: “It (the decision to move to Everton) was after speaking to Hugo especially. He was a really good goalkeeping coach and I learned a lot in half a year. That was the reason to go to Everton – to reach the next level and, hopefully, play in a big, big Premier League team. For me, Everton are a top-six side or thereabouts.
“Huddersfield knew that was my ambition. We spoke about that a year before. That was the plan all along. That said, it was difficult to leave Huddersfield. The first year was the best season of my career so far.
“Playing in the Premier League and the spirit of the team, that was something special for me.”
Having failed to make a single appearance for the Toffees, Lossl can understand why people will be cynical of his time there. But he insists he went there ‘for the right reasons.’
He added: “I went with the expectation and hope of challenging Jordan Pickford and getting game time. Because of different situations, that didn’t happen. I thought all along I could go and get in front of Jordan. It was my chance to get into a team like that but I didn’t take it. I went to Everton for the right reasons. It was about trying to get to a different level and that never happened.”