23/24 Squad building - The Forrads
Matt Shaw, Founder.
Twitter: @TTCMatt
The final article in the series. What, you didn’t realise that this was a series? I mean, technically it is, it’s the article on the strikers I promised back in August, it’s just been that long since I started, you’ll have forgotten about the others, or didn’t read them – which could have been the smart move.
No, but seriously I want to thank you for taking the time to read what I’ve written. The summer wasn’t the most pleasant period for me personally, so being able to throw myself into writing was a good form of escapology.
On December 29th Huddersfield Town dedicated the Middlesbrough game to the Town fans that we have lost throughout 2023. If you’d allow me, I’d like to do a personal note on those that are no longer with us who meant something to me. If you’d like to skip past and are here for the football, that’s cool, scroll down a touch where it says ONTO THE FOOTBALL.
One of my very first memories as a child is playing in our garden with a boy who used to visit his grandparents down our street. I was probably no older than 2 or 3 years old, the other boy, dark haired and of a bright red disposition, my very first friend. The other boy would visit every Saturday and we’d meet in the middle of the street, and we’d chatter like little chimps, chase the dogs about and play football. Eventually I started to go watch The Terriers and at the same time, unbeknownst to me, so did he. We both went to different junior and middle schools so rarely crossed paths until we went to Whitcliffe Mount High School. We were assigned into the same French and English classes and our friendship picked right back up where we left it, chattering more like giddy, gormless apes by this point. Rob was hilarious, able to create and be the punchline with such ease and he always looked after his friends. We later played on the same football and cricket teams and became great mates. Through our late teens and early 20’s we travelled away to watch Town whenever we could in his little white Vauxhall Corsa. It was a basic Corsa to everyone else, but when Rob strapped that seatbelt in, he transformed into the love child of Michael Schumacher. I remember Rob almost breaking the land speed record to get to Wrexham away and him having our hearts in our mouths as he weaved through miles of traffic down the M6 to get us to Walsall in time for kick off. Slightly superstitious, Rob used to wear his Town shirt with some white cargo pants. Those poor white pants… Every week without fail, Rob would order a pie, not pick up the cardboard plate and proceed to maul a Chicken Balti which every week without fail would end up all over his lap. The problem was, it was 1999/00 and Town kept winning! So, Rob kept wearing the same clothes, Rob kept eating and Rob kept spilling! By the time Town played Fulham on the final day of the season those trousers… Well, I’ll leave it to your imagination as to how they looked… It was grim. We should have aired them out of the window of the minibus on the way back up the M1. Eventually, Rob faded out of watching Town because he’d spied a girl he liked and was grafting harder than his mum with the stain remover to get her attention. He succeeded and started a family, but we kept in touch; mostly for me to give him stick for allowing his son to grow up as a Chesty (sacrilege), but he also had a slight look of Duane Holmes that I’d reference.
As Rob moved on to do his thing, his brother Adam and I became great friends and carried on the Town tradition, then one day Adam called me. “Our Rob’s had a heart attack; they don’t think he’s going to make it”. He didn’t. Rob had only just turned 43, my very first friend. My thoughts were with his young family and his wife. Life can be so wonderful and happy, but death so cruel. His funeral was on the 28th of June, which is also my dad’s birthday. I lost my dad in November 2021 in very unfortunate and difficult circumstances so that was a tough day.
RIP Robert Blackburn. One of the good guys.
My Uncle Alan: My first Town away game was in the 1991/92 season away at Preston. I have vague memories of Phil Starbuck and Keiran O’Regan missing penalties on the old plastic pitch and on the way back to the car some old man giving me the wanker sign from his bedroom - bit harsh to do to an 11-year-old minding his own business! :-D. My Uncle Alan was the one who took me to Preston and then to other places such as Hartlepool, Bradford, Bolton, and Peterborough for the playoffs. He unfortunately lost his battle with cancer at the start of July. I have a lot of good memories of going to games with him in the 90’s that I will always remember. A day or two later my Great Uncle Keith also passed away. A lovely man with a warm smile, he’ll be missed by all of us in my family.
Dementia is horrible disease. Stripping elderly people of their memories and mental faculties is as unfair as it gets. Sadly, two people I care about have recently succumbed to it. My dad used to own a farm and a chap called Phil Broomfield worked for him. I often used to pop up to the farm when I lived at home just to chat football with Phil who was a fellow Terrier. Phil was a lovely bloke who used to take great delight in Town wins and living in Bradford was particularly chastening of his local team who he used to refer to as “The Numpties”.
The day before the news of Phil broke, we also sadly lost my Great Auntie Joan. My Great Auntie Joan and Great Uncle Derek are the ones who lovingly bestowed this family curse of supporting Huddersfield Town upon me and would take my young self to every home game. I can still remember parking behind Ricky’s free house and walking across Leeds Road. Firstly, to the old ground and then to the new, the routine was always the same. Being young and easily embarrassed I used to cringe when my Auntie Joan shouted at the players. “YOU STUPID MAN” used to echo around the Cowshed or latterly the Riverside Lower, but once I got over myself, I learned to love her passion for Huddersfield Town, something my Uncle Derek used to match too in different ways. My Uncle Derek’s first Huddersfield game was in 1936, there are a lot of memories there of the good times and the bad, much of which he saw with my Auntie Joan. I’ll miss seeing her at the football, she was a wonderfully warm and fun individual.
So again, thank you for reading these articles. By keeping busy and throwing myself into things I enjoy I’ve been able to cheer myself up and by you good people reading them, retweeting, chatting about it it’s had a positive effect on my wellbeing. And that’s as nice as I get so don’t get me used to praising you lot! I say “you lot” but it’s just a smattering of friends and my mum. But a sincere thanks to you all.
ONTO THE FOOTBALL
I’ve gone full George RR Martin with the time taken over this article, although I guess that’s where the comparison ends, unless you’re my wife who told me years ago that I looked like a younger version of the Game of Thrones writer (I think she loves me…?). Ok, the forwards, was it? Well, when I started this article, there was still about a week to go before the end of the transfer window and Neil Warnock was still the manager, and now look at us.
It became evident early last season that Town were struggling up front. Danny Ward’s old injury issues flared up and he no longer looked like the sharp attacker that scored 14 times on the way to Town’s playoff final agony in 21/22. Jordan Rhodes’s mobility was questioned and the new young signings; “Jurassic” Kyle Hudlin and Tyreece Simpson were made with the future in mind. Mark Fotheringham tried to rectify the issue, but newcomers Martyn Waghorn and Florian Kamberi were never going to equate to goals and the two new signings contributed to 1 goal in 14 league games, as Town toiled with Kamberi only managing 58 minutes in his 6 months at the club. Perhaps what summed Town’s profligacy in front of goal up the most was that defender Matty Pearson scored 5 goals in his last 15 games of the season and ended up as the joint top league scorer. This season, another centre back in Michal Helik is joint top scorer. Things need to change.
For the 3rd window in a row Town’s hierarchy talked about adding attacking additions up front, but for the 3rd window in a row failed to land a decent no9, albeit not through the want of trying. The situation though is starting to become desperate as this season Town have persisted with recognised wingers up front. Delano Burgzorg, Josh Koroma and Sorba Thomas at a push can play off a main striker but none are natural line leaders and that is what Town are currently lacking in lieu of Danny Ward’s injury hit season and lack of form. Burgzorg and Koroma did a great job in a high press system against Ipswich, but both strikers are happier outside of the box rather than inside it, and you wouldn’t really fancy either to play up front by themselves for a prolonged spell and I’m sure Moore would like that flexibility even if he seems wed to 352 at present. Kian Harratt has had a go and grabbed his first Championship goal, but his rawness outside of the box has led to different issues materialising. Let’s look at the data from last season (when we also needed a good striker).
I’ve included Huddersfield’s attacking options and wingers who have often forayed up top.
Shot shy
The data is pretty bleak when you just look at the goals column and many will focus on that which isn’t entirely wrong to do so. Town had the lowest top scorer in The Championship and had the third lowest xG. From the above we can see that Jordan Rhodes, Tyreece Simpson and Martyn Waghorn all under performed in accordance with their xA&xG, but more surprisingly, the much-maligned Danny Ward actually over performed in terms of xA&xG, as did Kian Harratt, Jo Hungbo and Josh Koroma. Ward in particular has been a beacon for criticism but his xG of 0.19 compared to his actual goals per 90 of 0.18 indicates that he broadly did as well as he should and his assists when compared to xA shows that he was slightly more creative than he ought to be. Koroma and Hungbo scored a couple of long-range goals with low expectancy level which boosted their figures and Kian Harratt’s goal at Watford and lack of minutes really skews his data. If we dig further into Town’s attacking woes, the Terriers were 21st in The Championship in terms of shots taken and in the bottom 3 for shots on target. So how did we stay up? Well, we were 11th in highest number of shots converted, quite remarkable given our position in the table for all of the other metrics.
It is often said that the majority of Championship sides always have that one go-to man who can pull their team out of danger, snaffle a point when defeat looks certain and have the faithful supporters singing their name. Think Marcus Stewart or Paul Dalton. Not Huddersfield Town 2023 though. If we look at the top attacking performer in each team, then Town (and Wardy) sit 24th in terms of individual goals, 24th in goals per 90 mins, 12th in assists which is 7th over 90 mins despite being 14th for xA.
SO, WHAT DOES ALL OF THIS MEAN, MATT!? WAS DANNY WARD THE PROBLEM OR NOT?
Well, no, not really. Yes, Ward’s fitness has been a constant source of frustration, he’s scored comparatively few goals when compared to his peers, but the main issue really was that over the course of last season, Huddersfield Town created fuck all (sorry to be so blunt). In 21/22 similar issues befell Ward as we released our #FeedtheWard Xmas video where an isolated striker feeding off of scraps felt like he might as well have been stood on the moon, so deep were his supporting cast of teammates. Things haven’t really improved massively this season in front of goal either, but there is an odd quirk. By the 26th of October and before Town decided to batten down the hatches, The Terriers sat 4th bottom in terms of goals scored, 5th bottom in goals and assists, but actually sat 11th in terms of expected goals and even more curiously 7th in terms of xAG (which is goals following an assist). So, what was the reason for this creative anomaly? Well, it’s Sorba Thomas of course. After spending 6 months on loan at Blackburn last season, Thomas is back in the creative groove again this season and seems to have added more strings to his bow. In seasons gone by, the chances he created invariably came from set pieces, but this season his crossing and passing in open play is also now creating opportunities for his teammates. Sorba crosses the ball more than anyone else in the Championship with 2.8 crosses per game on average. He’s number 1 in the league for number of accurate crosses (and inaccurate crosses) and he sits in 6th in terms of the most key passes per game (passes leading to a chance) and assists in the division (he was 4th prior to Town’s switch to 11 men behind the ball). The problem is that he’s largely on his own as a creative force with Town’s next most creative players in Josh Koroma and Jack Rudoni back in 94th and 115th place. As much as this paints Sorba in a positive light it also shows that Town create very little down the left, through the middle or from the fullbacks. Stop Sorba, you stop the supply, and you stop Huddersfield Town. But let’s go back to taking chances again and look at this season.
As we mentioned higher up, what saved Town from certain doom was that the few chances that Town could muster they converted, hence being 11th in the division for shots to goals conversion. This season Town sit 4th bottom with a miserly 8.9% of shots converted into goals. Town sit 3rd bottom in number of shots on goal, 19th for most shots on target and 4th bottom for xG where our current 22 goals tracks slightly under the 23.6 xG rating. At the risk of being cliche, if you don’t shoot you don’t score, or to be more modern, if you don’t shoot, then your xG looks rubbish to nerdy stats chaps like me. When we look at the individual stats we can see that Josh Koroma, Kian Harratt, Danny Ward, Brahima Diarra and Kyle Hudlin are all underperforming when chances come their way, as is midfielder Jack Rudoni who has found himself in some great positions to score goals. The only outlier is the ‘Dr’ Delano Burgzorg who is scoring at around 0.41 per game whilst expected to be 0.15, but then I have to ask how credible his historical data is that FBREF (where I get the stats from) uses. No matter the angle you choose, the stat you choose, this season it all points to Town needing to improve in two key areas.
1. Creativity
The creativity in areas where Sorba Thomas isn’t stood must be improved to give Towns strikers more variety and to decrease Town’s predictability. Town only have one fullback in the top 50 most creative Championship fullbacks with Jaheim Headley in 34th place. Full back has been a real weak spot since we lost both Harry Toffolo and Pipa in the summer of 2022. Town have also yet to register an assist from the left wing (not wing back) where Josh Koroma has created 9 opportunities, although a third of these came in one game against Cardiff with Town already 4-0 down. In the middle of the park, Jack Rudoni sits in 26th place for key passes amongst his Championship peers with Hoggy in 28th but there is only 1 genuine assist between them. I know that this article is technically about strikers, but Town also massively lack control and a passing midfielder in the middle of the park – perhaps they could kill two birds with one stone here. So in short, we need more output from right back or right wing back as well as the middle of the park and the left wing.
2. Town need not 1 but 2 new strikers.
But Danny Ward!? No, I’m afraid not. As good as Ward was throughout the 2021/22 season, his availability over the past 3 and a bit season’s is a cause for concern. In 20/21 Ward missed 54.35% of the league season with injury completing 90 minutes on only 3 occasions, in 21/22 he only missed 13% of games, but in 22/23 it increased again to 21.74% with 90 minutes only completed on 8 occasions, and this season he has so far missed 60% of the campaign. Overall, Ward has been unavailable for around 32% of his 2nd spell at Huddersfield Town, tantamount to him missing every 3rd game. Of the games where he did play, he completed 90 minutes on 26 occasions out of the 102 appearances that he has made, with many of those cut short due to him carrying niggles and knocks. This lack of reliability in Ward’s fitness means that he can’t be the striker that Town hang their hat on. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a good bench option and back-up, but going forward Town need something different. Further to this, Town perhaps require a more physical element to their attacking play. As we’ve discussed elsewhere, Town struggle for possession and accuracy in their passing, perhaps the team would benefit from changing the point or dynamic of their attack with a more physical outlet? Is that physical outlet, Kyle Hudlin? No, not yet. Back on November 4th, Hudlin came out of the Watford game with praise from the media and Town fans. ‘Jurassic Kyle’ lead the line by himself, winning 10 aerial duels and drawing 4 fouls in what was his best performance for The Terriers. There is something there with Hudlin, he and the club are currently working out precisely what that is and going forward he could be useful, but in the immediacy maybe a loan down to Leagues 1 or 2 may benefit him more than being bit part for Town and a loan would allow him to gain the game experience that he needs. One man who is no stranger to experience is Jordan Rhodes. Should Rhodes be leading Town’s front line? Not for me, but I do see some sense in bringing him back from his loan spell at Blackpool in January. Currently Rhodes is the top scorer in League 1 with 15 goals and scoring at a rate of 0.75 goals per game and with Town’s increased production (thanks to Sorba) and number of crosses coming into the box then Rhodes could be a handy option off of the bench until the end of the season when his contract expires. Sadly, a man who’s time with The Terriers may be about to expire is Kieran Phillips. Phillips will be 24 come the end of the season and as I type, he has only played 195 league minutes for Huddersfield Town since re-signing for the club in 2020. The signing of Phillips was always a punt, an immensely talented striker in his youth, he suffered a double fracture of his knee aged 16 which ruled him out of competitive football for two and a half years. Since then, injuries have followed the Huddersfudlian like a dark raincloud. Phillips went out on loan to Shrewsbury at the start of this season, but that raincloud followed, and Phillips is now back in HD1 rehabilitating a hamstring injury. Is it time for the club to cut their losses? Possibly, which would be a shame for the unfortunate local. I’m still rooting for him but it’s getting to the now or never stage. Cutting of losses is not something the club should do with Delano Burgzorg. The good Dr is currently on loan from Mainz until the end of the season and thrills and frustrates in equal measure. Burgzorg isn’t really a striker but can effectively play off of one or come in from the left as an inside forward. As Burgzorg’s form fluctuates it wouldn’t surprise me if the Town heirarchy had had internal discussions as to whether to turn the loan permanent or sending him back to Mainz within days of each other. However, over the past month Burgzorg has become somewhat of a key player and cult figure in the stands. With 6 goals in 20 games, Town would be wise to see how much more they can get out of the Dutchman before deciding what final route to take. Speaking of routes, it could be a longer route to starting in the first team than initially imagined for Tyreece Simpson. Signed last year for the B team with the hope of expediting him quickly into the first team fold, it hasn’t quite happened for the former rugby player. Simpson is currently on loan at League 1 Northampton Town and has only scored once in the 19 league games that he has played. It looks like it may be later rather than sooner for Simpson at Huddersfield Town. Finally, Kian Harratt has shown flashes this season of the player that Huddersfield Town hope he can become but injury has currently curtailed his progression. If Town can get a couple of strikers in then a loan for Harratt would likely be more beneficial as he continues to learn his craft.
With Town boss Darren Moore opting for a 2 up top system, then having 4 interchangeable strikers is required. With Rhodes’s pending return and Burgzorg’s form, two strikers should be on the shopping list and at least 1 needs to be a very good focal point and the other could be a punt or a striker-cum-winger (or whatever they’re called on Football Manager 2024) which would allow for greater tactical flexibility so that Town could switch to 343 quite fluidly in game.
So who can we sign?
It’s the final days of December and I’m sure Town’s transfer guru Mark Cartwright has some ducks lined up already. The problem is that the January window is often a frustrating time for clubs like Huddersfield Town and those pesky ducks can disappear or never even appear in the crosshairs in the first place. Most teams up and down the football league have an eye either on the promotion race or the relegation trap door and no one wants to ultimately weaken their squad coming into the final push. I mean, who’d sell their best striker to a promotion rival whilst in the top 6 causing a club-wide meltdown which leads to them falling out of the playoffs and then the division the year after whilst that rival gets promotion and goes on to qualify for European football? DAMNIT, BARRY RUBERRY! It’s still raw.
Many clubs won’t want to weaken their hand, but they may be willing to sell a player should their favoured replacement be available. Honestly, the January window is like buying a house from within an insufferable chain where invariably you’re waiting for someone richer to start a sequence of events which leads you to get what you want – the home (or striker) of your dreams. Anyway, what I’m getting at is that we are unlikely to have several new players all signed and sealed come January 1st. Patience may be needed, or a lot of money. Lots and lots and lots of money. Speaking of money, Town haven’t invested in a first team no9 since Steve Mounie in 2017. It’s time to break this bad habit if we can. Investment here is crucial.
So where will we be looking?
The Premier League is where the talent is, but it’s where the crazy wages are too. Will Kevin Nagle be willing to sanction some moves for Premier League fringe talent or will we look at the kids’ making waves in Premier League 2? It’s The Proven vs The Punts. It is unlikely that Town could easily attract fringe players from high up in The Premier League, but they may have some success with the clubs at the bottom end. There are teams at the bottom scrambling for survival and may look to get some money in for the last throw of the dice to stay in the division.
Who is there?
Name: Kieffer Moore
Team: Bournemouth
2023/24
Apps: 7
Goals: 1
Chances: Slim
Available in the summer, Moore has found Premier League game time difficult to come by lately having only played a combined 10 minutes since the 21st of October. Moore would solve a lot of issues in Town’s front line but, he would solve a lot of issues in most Championship sides front lines too. Should the Welsh international be available next month I presume that there will be a long line of suitors from the top to the bottom of The Championship and with Town currently sat in 21st place, I’m not sure that we’ll be the most attractive option he’ll get.
Name: Michael Obafemi
Team: Burnley
2023/24
Apps: 2
Goals: 0
Chances: Fair
A signing to get help Burnley over the line last season, Obafemi has found opportunities scarce this term. A striker small in stature but full of pace, strength and clever running, Obafemi can play with his back to goal and bring others into play and stretch defences with good decoy runs. During the 21/22 season he scored 12 goals for Swansea at a rate of a goal every 168 minutes which dropped to a goal every 385 minutes last season but it was still enough to secure a move to Burnley where he scored 2 goals in 167 minutes if football, typically one of them was against us. A front 3 of Burgzorg, Obafemi and Thomas would be a good watch.
Name: Daniel Jebbison
Team: Sheffield Utd
2023/24
Apps: 0
Goals: 0
Chances: Fair
Illness and injury have struck Jebbison this season and a once promising career has stuttered somewhat over the last year or so. A bit part player in The Championship last season, some fans may remember him making a bit of a hash of a 1-on-1 with us back in April. Jebbison probably needs a good run of games at this level to recapture the early promise that saw England cap him up to u20 level, but the issue is that it may take him a little while to get going if he’s over his recent ‘unspecified illness’.
Name: Jay Stansfield
Team: Fulham (on loan at Birmingham)
2023/24
Apps: 22
Goals: 7
Chances: Difficult
According to Sky Sports, Fulham are willing to listen to offers for the striker and will entertain a permanent departure this winter window. This has naturally sparked a mini-scramble with Sunderland and Ipswich posturing for the 21-year-old forward. Stansfield is a striker who possesses a lot of potential as well as being able to make an immediate impact. The Devonian may cost a pretty penny but there is the potential for a buyer to double their investment should they take the risk.
Youth loan punts
If Town can’t secure a more established striker from The Premier League then there are a number of Premier League 2 strikers currently showing potential. In Town’s current precarious predicament, this wouldn’t be the route I’d choose to go down to get a main striker, but a backup one from this group with the aim to push the starters wouldn’t be the worst idea.
Name: Callum Marshall
Team: West Ham
2023/24 PL2 stats:
Apps: 10
Goals: 16
Name: Ronnie Stutter
Team: Chelsea
2023/24 PL2 stats:
Apps: 8
Goals: 6
Name: Deivid Washington
Team: Chelsea
2023/24 PL stats:
Apps: 1
Goals: 0
Name: Jamie Donley
Team: Tottenham
2023/24 PL2 stats:
Apps: 9
Goals: 4
Name: Dane Scarlett
Team: Tottenham (Formerly Ipswich on loan)
2023/24 Championship stats:
Apps: 12
Goals: 0
Name: Joe Hugill
Team: Man Utd
2023/24 PL2 stats:
Apps: 9
Goals: 7
There are other PL2 youth players such as Kobei Moore (Aston Villa), Will Dickson (Man City), Ade Ola-Adebomi (Palace) and Mark O’Mahony (Brighton) who are worth considering. Dane Scarlett from the above has played the most first team football in England and whilst unable to break into the starting line-up at Ipswich may be able to add something to Huddersfield Town although 7 goals in 69 appearances may initially be a tough sell to a fanbase expecting goals from a new man.
Championship talent
With so much to play for at the top and bottom of The Championship getting other sides to part with players will be difficult, unless they manage to bring in targets first but even then, a side in the bottom half are unlikely to want to strengthen a rival at the bottom end. Most clubs would like to keep their foot on top of Town’s head to push us under the water to save themselves. I’d be surprised if they didn’t think that way and maybe a little disappointed! Up at the top end of the league most sides will want to keep hold of players as a ‘break glass’ in case of emergency. Let us have a look anyway and see what Town may be able to do.
Name: Tom Cannon
Team: Leicester
2023/24
Apps: 3
Goals: 0
Chances: Slight
Tom Cannon was very impressive on loan at Preston in the second half of last season scoring 8 goals in 20 appearances. This alerted Leicester City to his potential, and they then shelled out a fee rising to 7.5m for the Irish youth international. So far this season Cannon has only managed 59 minutes and Leicester may consider a loan as they have several other options in the central striking department. If Leicester make a move for a striker in the window, then Cannon could be available and where better to go than the bottom half of the Championship where the likelihood of him helping a promotion rival would be null. Some dominoes may need to drop for this move to happen but if available Cannon would fit in well alongside Town’s current options.
Name: Joe Gelhardt
Team: Leeds
2023/24
Apps: 6
Goals: 0
Chances: Slim
The noises coming from the chest side indicate that whilst Gelhardt would like to increase his gametime it is unlikely that Leeds will acquiesce. Currently in 4th place, Leeds don’t seem willing to weaken their squad as they go for promotion. However, similar to Leicester in that should another attacker pop up on their transfer radar then Gelhardt may be allowed out. Is Gelhardt the right type for Town? I’m not really convinced, but beggars can’t be choosers in our scenario.
Name: Josh Coburn
Team: Middlesbrough
2023/24
Apps: 19
Goals: 3
Chances: Possible
It seemed that Coburn was set to move out on loan at the start of the season, but a loan move never materialised. Instead, Coburn managed to get a run in the Middlesbrough side when injury hit in September. Coburn started 10 games in a row scoring 3 times but has since dropping out of the side due to injury back in November. Middlesbrough are once again in the market for a striker, and it could be that Coburn may finally be available to go out on loan if they are successful. At 6ft3” Coburn is a bruising young forward with a lot of potential and his strength and hold up play could help bring chances about for the likes of Burgzorg, Koroma and Rudoni should Town be able to strike a deal.
EDIT. I wrote the above prior to the game against Middlesbrough. I suspect that the chances of Coburn will have dipped to slim to nil after his decent showing at the John Smith’s Stadium.
Lower league talent
Recent history shows that this is where Town like to shop. Lower wages make Championship Huddersfield Town an attractive proposition whilst lower fees for lower league players have been music to a Town owners’ ears. Town let’s be honest have also done well at plucking players from lower down the pyramid over the last 11 years with Nahki Wells, Joe Lolley, Lee Nicholls, Sorba Thomas and Jack Rudoni all evidence that Town can have success in this area and there are players worth having a snout at. Some supporters would suggest that signing players from lower down is a punt, but they often arrive with wind at their sails having shown enough form to catch the eye of Town scouts. Let’s have a look at some of the possibilities and let’s start in League 1.
Name: Miles Leaburn
Team: Charlton Athletic
2023/24
Apps: 18
Goals: 7
Chances: Possible
Son of ex Charlton striker Carl, Miles Leaburn burst onto the scene at Charlton last season with 13 goals in 40 games attracting the attention of Premier League scouts from Aston Villa to Brentford. The 6ft4” striker has had a quieter 2nd season, but his 7 goals have slid under the radar a touch and with interest cooling, now could be the time for Town to pounce. Leaburn would of course not come cheap and would be somewhat of a punt considering that he is only 20 years of age with just 58 games and 21 goals under his belt, but there is huge growth potential in the former Chelsea youth talent and whomever takes the plunge won’t be disappointed in the long term. In the short term, could Town afford the development time? Well, that’d depend on if they could bring in another striker with more experience, but Leaburn is certainly worth the consideration.
Name: Dion Charles
Team: Bolton Wanderers
2023/24
Apps: 26
Goals: 15
Chances: Possible with a lot of spare money
Coming into his prime years at 26, Charles looks ready to take the next step in his career. The problem that Town have is that Charles’s team Bolton Wanderers are well placed to deliver that for him. Financially Bolton are no longer the comparatively big hitter they once were, so relatively big money could see the deal over the line. Town though would be unlikely to come out of a deal with any sort of value for money considering that Charles is contracted until 2026, would Nagle and co be prepared to part with several million for a League 1 striker unproven at Championship level? That might be the ultimate choice that they have to make next month.
Name: Jonson Clarke-Harris
Team: Peterborough Utd
2023/24
Apps: 16
Goals: 4
Chances: Good
I’ve never been the biggest fan of Jonson Clarke-Harris, he can at times be lazy and look disinterested, but he does score goals. Last time Clarke-Harris was in The Championship he managed 12 goals at an average of every 250 minutes which for a relegated side is no mean feat. With Clarke-Harris’s contract due to expire at the end of the season he has found himself dropped from the Peterborough starting lineup and you would think that there are good chances that a reasonable deal could materialise for him. JCH is 30 this summer so is unlikely to represent a long-term investment with resale value, but if there was enough money to secure a Jonson Clarke-Harris and say an up-and-coming player like Miles Leaburn, then Town would be laughing in the short, medium and long term.
League 2 is another rung down the ladder and the liklihood of finding a striker to plug and play from the off dimishes slightly but there are a couple of options that look interesting for different reasons:
Name: Will Evans
Team: Newport County
2023/24
Apps: 30
Goals: 16
Chances: Good
Will Evans is still relatively fresh out of the Welsh leagues having signed for Newport from Bala Town in 2022. After a mediocre first season, Evans’s pro career has taken off this term where he has moved infield and the goals have flowed. Evans plays with a hunger which translates into his playing style as he is ferocious in the press and his aggression and turnovers can create opportunities high up the pitch for himself and his teammates. With Newport sitting in 17th place in League 2, I do wonder what Evans would be like with better players around him, but equally also query whether at 26, he is a late bloomer or this is just a flash in the pan. Either way, Evans presents an option and his aggressive nature would endear him to the Town faithful.
Name: Ali Al-Hamadi
Team: Wimbledon
2023/24
Apps: 27
Goals: 15
Chances: Good
An Iraq international in League 2?? Al-Hamadi was born in Iraq in 2002 before he and his family fled Iraq during the 2002 Iraq War. Raised in Toxteth, Al-Hamadi made his senior breakthrough at Wycombe Wanderers after a youth career at Tranmere and Swansea. Wimbledon seemed suitably impressed enough to buy Al-Hamadi in January of this year and he hasn’t looked back since scoring 25 goals in 46 games with Wycombe maybe contemplating the error of their ways. Could the 21-year-old who was deemed not good enough for League 1 Wycombe 12 months ago bounce up 2 leagues to fire Town to safety? There does seem to be potential with the rangy frontman but this one similar to Evans would be a punt with no guarantees.
Name: Macaulay Langstaff
Team: Notts County
2023/24
Apps: 27
Goals: 16
Chances: Good
Let me tell you about my mate, Gimli. Back in the mid 00’s we used to go to the gym together and my pal Gimli was obsessed with trying to achieve a hypertrophic physique. His problem was that I could lift twice as much as he and he had long since plateaud. Gimli changed his gym, changed his routine and when I saw him 12 months later he was three times the size he was. “Raisins on my porridge, skip” was his advice on how he’s packed on 2 stone of muscle. I do wonder if Macauley Langstaff also got himself a family sized pack of Sun-Maid raisins as since he moved to Gateshead aged 23 his goal output has hit insane levels. Langstaff hit 30 goals in the National League North in 2021/22, then slapped in 42 goals after signing for Notts County in 2022/23 as County returned to the football league. Whilst I joke about my mate Gimli, there is also a lot to be said about sports people who work hard, improve their diet and have the determination to succeed. Langstaff is a good story (as well as yours, Gimli).
Foreign climes
With the softening of the work permit rules in the summer the broader European market has opened back up to Championship clubs. No longer hamstrung by making sure the player has 15 points for a visa, clubs can now bring in 4 players that don’t meet the old criteria and Town having used 1 slot on Delano Burgzorg have 3 remaining. This means leagues in Scandinavia, Austria, Belgium and the 2nd tiers in Spain and Germany can now be scoured, and we know what success that can bring.
The Championship is a well renowned basket case of financial madness, but financial prudence and sensibility can be found across the channel. Many European sides will actively seek buyers for players rather than let contracts run down and the market generally provided much better value than back in England.
After re-evaluating their development programs, Scotland has started to produce more players in the last few years and with looser work permit rules, it is now a potential ‘gateway to England’ for foreign players wishing to try their hand in the top 2 tiers of England. Let’s start north of the border with some potential striker’s worth noting.
Name: Bojan Miovski
Team: Aberdeen
2023/24
Apps: 28
Goals: 14
Chances: Slim
Miovski has been red hot this season scoring 4 goals in Aberdeen’s European campaign and a further 10 goals domestically which has drawn attention from other Championship clubs and others across Europe, which would make this difficult for Town to pull off. Making this even more difficult is Aberdeen’s current stance on a sale as boss Barry Robson has recently stated that it would take a big offer to prize their star striker away from Pittodrie having made two big sales in the summer. That being said, Miovski is a clever, technical striker able to link play between lines and causes defences problems with his movement and he would be a superb addition to any Championship side - if they’ve got the money.
Name: Duk
Team: Aberdeen
2023/24
Apps: 28
Goals: 5
Chances: Fair
Similar to the Miovski stance, Aberdeen are under no pressure to sell the enigmatic frontman. Duk is more of a wide striker than centre forward and burst onto the SPL scene last season with a blaze of pace and goals scoring 18 times in 43 games. This season Duk has only scored 5 times and has been less talked about as Miovski has taken the headlines, but those under the radar players are where clubs like Huddersfield Town can use their money wisely.
Name: Lawrence Shankland
Team: Hearts
2023/24
Apps: 27
Goals: 17
Chances: Slim
I’ve seen several people mention Shankland but whilst he’s had a terrific goalscoring record in Scotland it’s more than likely elevated the Scottish International out of our sphere of possibility with Glasgow Rangers ready to pounce with a 3m price tag mooted. Would Town spend 3m on a 28-year-old striker from Scotland with a slim chance of seeing a chunk of that back in the future? Probably not. Would he pick Town over Rangers? Not a chance. Quite a lot of slim chance strikers on this list, huh? It won’t be an easy task this striker signing lark.
Away from The UK
Name: Sinan Karweina
Team: Austria Klagenfurt
2023/24
Apps: 19
Goals: 11
Chances: Fair
The 24-year-old is currently experiencing a breakout season with 11 goals for Austria Klagenfurt in the Austrian Bundesliga. Karweina has this season moved into a central role after spending last season on the right flank. As well as 11 goals, he has 7 assists and has raised an eyebrow or two in Europe.
Name: Maximilian Entrup
Team: TSV Hartberg
2023/24
Apps: 14
Goals: 11
Chances: Fair
FF to 3:00 on the video. A 1 cap Austrian International, Entrup has scored 11 times in 14 appearances this season on the back of 40 goals in 2 seasons in the Austrian 2nd tier. Entrup is now coming into the last 18 months of his contract at TSV Hartberg and eyes are starting to focus in on the goal scorer.
Name: Andreas Gruber
Team: Austria Vienna
2023/24
Apps: 24
Goals: 12
Chances: Fair
FF to 2:34 on the video. Gruber is basically here for all of the die hard references that I’d throw in to each podcast. If we signed Gruber and SKY didn’t have Aaron McLean in the studio then I’d lose my faith in television production. Oh, him as a player? Can play across the front 3, is left footed (we don’t have one of those really bar Ward) and can create and score goals. Worth the look.
Name: Alexander Lind
Team: Silkeborg IF
2023/24
Apps: 19
Goals: 10
Chances: Slim
21-year-old Lind has had a breakout season at Silkeborg which includes caps for Denmark u21’s. Could Lind tread a similar path to Emil Riis Jakobsen? Lind looks like a player full of potential, but could he make an instant impact at Championship level?
Name: Nikolas Agrafiotis
Team: Excelsior
2023/24
Apps: 18
Goals: 6
Chances: Fair
Agrafiotis has just started to hit his straps in the Dutch Eredivisie and that may be bad news for Excelsior considering that the striker’s contract expires in June 2024. Agrafiotis is a Serbian youth international and possesses technical skill to bring others in to play.
Name: Cedric Touchert
Team: Hanover 96
2023/24
Apps: 12
Goals: 9
Chances: Fair
Touchert is a deft finisher out of contract in June 2024. With Hanover looking set for a mid-table finish they make look to cash in on the striker currently scoring every 109 minutes in the German Bundesliga 2 league.
Name: Benedikt Pichler
Team: Holsten Kiel
2023/24
Apps: 17
Goals: 8
Chances: Slim
Pichler’s team Holsten Kiel find themselves at the top of 2.Bundesliga in Germany which would make any move for the Austrian striker difficult. Pichler posseses strength, good movement and the ability to score goals and would be an attractive option if available. The 26-year-old’s contract expires in 2025.
Name: Famara Diedhiou
Team: Granada CF
2023/24
Apps: 9
Goals: 1
Chances: Fair
Town fans may remember Diedhiou from his time at Bristol City where he made 169 appearances scoring 51 goals before leaving in 2021. A successful spell in Turkey followed before the Senegalese international signed for Granada in Spain. The 6ft2” powerhouse has found match-time limited in La Liga and has so far only racked up 81 league minutes. Diedhiou is very much in the mould of a mobile target-man who weighs in with goals and could be seen as an ideal foil for to get the best out of the likes of Burgzorg, Thomas and Koroma. Could Town sort a loan spell for the 31-year-old? It would be a good move if they could.
Name: Sam Surridge
Team: Nashville SC
2023/24
Apps: 15
Goals: 5
Chances: Fair
A pressing forward who can time runs in behind the defence, Surridge may be memorable to Town fans for being part of the Nottingham Forest side in the 2021/22 season. The Berkshire born striker has recently moved to the USA to join Nashville, but with the MLS season now drawn to a close, could Town nip in for a cheeky loan? Surridge would add speed and direct running to Town’s front-line if Mr Cartwright and co wanted to go here.
Right, that’s it! Thanks for reading the article. Town certainly need to do a lot of work up front, and I fully expect a recalled Jordan Rhodes to be part of the Town squad shortly. January always proves to be a difficult time to get a lot of deals done but Town have had success in the past having signed the likes of Nahki Wells and Izzy Brown during this month. How much spending power and ambition Town have is really unclear at the moment, I am led to believe that money is available but as to how much I couldn’t say. I think it would be fair to say that some of the options presented are a little scattergun, but that is so far based off of the little I know of how Mark Cartwright and Lee Maybury operate. I fully expect the European market to turn up something for us and we have also heard about the possibility of Premier League loans happy to come and play under Darren Moore. Moore has had a good relationship with Liverpool in the past and if that could be used to bring in someone like Scottish winger Ben Doak on loan then that would be a big positive step forward. Anyway, I shall now give way to rampant speculation on social media and sit back and enjoy the window - Happy New Year everyone, here’s to a good 2024.
Matt
