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Following on from Part 1 of the Huddersfield Town season review, we look at the transfers the Terriers made and their impact on the club during the 2020/21 campaign.
Transfers and their impacts
The Terriers made 14 signings over the course of the 2020/21 season, five buys, two loans and seven free transfers.
Town invested in youth with the additions of Danny Grant and Sorba Thomas. Grant has had no impact within the first team due to a tremendously unlucky spell of injury, Thomas however, has made a few first team appearances with little to no impact in his appearances so far.
The side also invested in experienced players with Duane Holmes and Richard Keogh returning to the club, Holmes was underwhelming in the majority of his return to HD4 apart from his brace against Swansea.
Keogh was a player met with doubt upon his arrival but was a consistent performer in his return. Whilst many will argue that his contract should be renewed, the Irishman provides veteran experience to younger defenders which will be vital if the Terriers continue to invest in youth.
The West Yorkshire outfit also was smart in the free transfers that were brought in. Rolando Aarons featured on several occasions and provided a bit of flair when needed so could have a major impact on the squad next season.
Naby Sarr featured in most of the games this season and at times was incredible in the system Carlos Corberán wants to play but inconsistencies have given Town fans a sour taste on the Senegalese centre-half.
Yaya Sanogo is another player who was brought in in January, however, failed to make an impact in his time as a Terrier. Danny Ward also fits this mould as a player that failed to make an impact after his re-signing, with only one goal this season.
Jayson Leutwiler and Oumar Niasse were also free signings but didn’t get a chance to showcase their ability, Leutwiler due to Schofield’s role in the side and Niasse suffered an injury.
Best Arrival
Carel Eiting (Loan – Ajax)
The best signing that arrived this season has to be Carel Eiting. The Dutchman arrived on loan from Ajax, and with the side still missing a midfielder who could control games and cause an impact, fans were hoping that he would fit that mould and play the same role that Aaron Mooy did in the side’s promotion to the top-flight back in 2017.
Eiting’s main characteristic was his ability to control the tempo of games and he often did. With an exceptional range of passing and the ability to shoot, the loanee made an instant impact on the side, however, after suffering an injury it looked unlikely that the Dutchman would play again this season.
The 23-year-old returned for the final few games of the season. Whilst still not match fit, his impact was still known and looked like an exceptional Championship midfielder and a player that Huddersfield should be looking to bring back next season as long as there are no long-term complications due to his injury.
Worst Arrival
Joel Pereira (Loan – Manchester United)
After a hugely disappointing spell at Hearts last term, Pereira arrived at the John Smith’s Stadium with critics before he had any chance to prove himself. Once hailed by José Mourinho of having the potential to be “the best Portuguese goalkeeper of the next generation”, the goalkeeper looked a shell of that.
With only two appearances for Huddersfield, the critics were correct to be judgemental, conceding 11 goals amongst those appearances. The shot-stopper will go down as arguably one of the worst goalkeepers that the club has seen in recent history.
Best Value For Money
Pipa (Undisclosed – Espanyol)
With a rumoured price tag of under £1 million, the Town fanbase were obviously excited to see their new man in action and it has to be said that he proved himself as one of the best attacking full-backs in the Championship this season.
With Europa League experience and a consistent member in Spain’s Under-21 squad, the full-back looks a steal and with Town’s evershifting change to a 3-5-2 or 3-4-3 formation, fans might not have even seen the best of the youngster.
With a full year of Championship experience, scoring two goals and assisting six, the 23-year-old is only likely to improve as time goes on.
Unexpected Impact
Álex Vallejo (Free Agent)
Vallejo is a player who arrived in October and fans had to wait to see the Spaniard’s true talent as he took time to adapt to the Championship’s physicality, yet when he did come into the side his impact was second to none.
Many expected a little bit of experience to accompany the younger midfield that the side had in the likes of Juninho Bacuna, Lewis O’Brien and Carel Eiting but what they got was much more. A versatile midfielder with the same traits as Eiting being able to control tempo is what is needed in the modern-day defensive midfielder.
His impact was felt further with his ability to play at centre-back. As mentioned earlier Corberán has often seen his side shift between a 4-3-3 and a three at the back setup. Vallejo’s ability to play as a central midfielder or being able to shift into defence made him a key part of the Huddersfield side this year.
Key Players
Josh Koroma
Age: 22
Position: Forward
With Karlan Grant departing for a rumoured £15 million fee, the winger left massive boots that needed filling if the Yorkshire side that wanted to stay up, those boots were filled by Josh Koroma.
After a disappointing 2019/20 campaign for the youngster, including an underwhelming loan spell at Rotherham, doubts were massively showing throughout the fanbase.
Within five games, their trust was repaid after he scored his first goal. With eight goal contributions to his name by December, Koroma became injured in a game against Sheffield Wednesday and it seemed unlikely he would play again this season.
However, the winger returned for the last five games of the season and scored two goals and assisted a Ryan Nyambe own goal against Blackburn Rovers.
In 20 games, Koroma got 10 goal contributions averaging a contribution every 0.5 games. That means we can guess if he had a full season, there could have been a chance that the winger could have got 23 goal contributions, which would more than make up the space left by Karlan Grant nine months ago.
Jonathan Hogg
Age: 32
Position: Defensive Midfielder
Hogg is a player who has seen it all at Huddersfield Town. The midfielder has been at the club for seven years now, arriving in 2014 from Watford. Yet his performances have grown year upon year with the midfielder not showing any signs of deterioration in his performances.
Featuring in 37 of Huddersfield’s games this season, the midfielder’s stamina and work rate all season hasn’t changed despite playing so consistently. Hogg is a player that epitomises the ‘Terrier Spirit’ motto that was the ideology of the club in the 2016/17 season.
Captaining the side too, Hogg is the exemplary role model for midfielders coming through the ranks and will definitely be hard to replace after his impact for the last seven seasons.
The midfielder was named Player of the Season at the club this season and it is clear to see why averaging 1.9 tackles per game and 1.1 interceptions he is the ideal defensive midfielder in Corberán’s system.
Harry Toffolo
Age: 25
Position: Left Back
Toffolo is a player that has been in West Yorkshire for last 18 months and is another incredibly consistent player and without doubt, there will be interest from higher Championship clubs for the full-back. The 25-year-old broke the 100 c0nsectutive appearance mark just showing the level of fitness the full-back possesses.
However, it isn’t just his fitness levels that are incredible, alongside Pipa, ‘Toffs’ established himself as one of the best attacking full-backs in the league with two goals and five assists. Making him a perfect fit in the system that Corberán plays.
Season Verdict
This season Huddersfield overachieved and underachieved to such great proportions it’s difficult to categorise their actual positioning.
Pre-2021, Town looked set for a mid-table finish with great performances against the likes of Swansea, Middlesbrough and Watford. On the final matchday of 2020, the side sat 12th, five points outside the play-offs and 15 points clear of the relegation zone.
Without a doubt, injuries massively hindered the side’s ability to move forward in the second half of the season, with Koroma and Christopher Schindler just to name a couple ruled out for prolonged spells of time and it certainly didn’t help the side’s chances of a mid-table finish.
With relegation seeping into the mind of supporters after a torrid January, and with it looking like the nightmares of relegation were potentially realistic in April, survival is potentially deemed as an overachievement.
As a whole though, the season has been quite underwhelming for the Terriers, after such a promising start. With the announcement of Carlos Corberán, many were doubtful of his appointment.
The second half of the season has seen Corberán compared to Danny Cowley on a weekly basis, within reason it is fair, with both getting somewhat similar finishes in the league, but what must be remembered is the differences in squads that both manager’s had at their disposal.
In no way should the work of Danny and Nicky Cowley be undermined and that certainly shouldn’t be the take from this, his efforts to keep Town in the Championship last season were incredible.
However, the Cowley brother’s Huddersfield Town had much better players in most if not all positions. A consistently fit Schindler, the 23 goal contributions from Karlan Grant, Emile Smith-Rowe, Steve Mounie, Chris Willock, Jonas Lössl and Trevoh Chalobah.
The majority of those players have not been replaced, likely due to the ongoing pandemic. With it only being possible to argue that Josh Koroma could potentially have had a similar tally to Grant without injuries, Ryan Schofield has, at times, seemed like the ideal replacement for Lössl long term.
Even drops in performances from key players have been seen this season. Lewis O’Brien last season was up there with one of the best box-to-box midfielders in the league and this season has been unable to reach the same highs.
Both managers have had to work off scraps in West Yorkshire, but it must be said that the Cowley’s were able to utilise the loan market a lot more than Corberán has been so far in his spell as head coach, so comparison’s between the two are still a little unjustified.
That being said, we have seen the football and ideology that the Spaniard has shown in the past 10 months, what would he have been able to do with the same squad that the Cowley’s had?
The Next Steps
What has to happen next season at Huddersfield is Corberán needs to be backed. He is currently working on a squad that has had relegation fights now for the past four seasons. With contract extensions given to Bacuna and Mbenza, it looks as if the pair will depart this summer with a number of European clubs looking at both.
The wage bill has been massively lifted with Huddersfield releasing their retained list this week, nine players were released at the end of their contracts including Alex Pritchard and club legend Christopher Schindler.
Corberán has worked with the ‘hand-me-downs’ of the past few managers, all used to certain styles, all probably lacking confidence. The vital thing now is to invest in his style. Players that work in a 4-3-3, that work in a 3-5-2, that work in a 3-4-3.
There have been early signs of this too with the potential signing of Làzaro, a 19-year-old attacking midfielder from Flamengo and with the Brazillian adding to the rumour mill this week, by replying to a Huddersfield Town fan’s tweet, it looks like Corberán is trying to assemble his squad as soon as possible.
Thanks for the affection ✌??
— Lázaro (@Lazarovini10) May 9, 2021
The rebuild seems will be one that is not going to happen overnight and will take time. The club took five seasons to rise from the Championship to the Premier League. It did so through calculated risks and the appointment of Corberán has been a risky move but looks like it could pay off in dividends.
A mid-table finish next season would be a good start at this rebuild, but any progress on the 20th place finish this season must be made if Huddersfield Town are to rise again.
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