BREAKING NEWS: Huddersfield Town best and worst late-window arrivals show two sides of near-deadline transfers

Friday’s 11pm transfer deadline is now well and truly in sight, and the final sprint to the finish line can bring either unexpected steals or last-minute panic buys

There’s just a few days left in this summer transfer window, giving the Terriers (and their Championship rivals) one last opportunity to get their final bits of business done before they have to wait until January – free agents aside.

Huddersfield Town have got most of their transfer work done with the arrivals of goalkeeper Chris Maxwell, right-back Tom Edwards, forward Delano Burgzorg and, most recently, midfielder Ben Wiles, whose move from Rotherham United was announced on Friday lunchtime.

Neil Warnock would still like another centre-forward added to his squad if they can find a fitting candidate, and we know from previous years that the impending deadline can either make players available unexpectedly or leave clubs looking for scraps. Here’s some examples of both from the past decade or so.

 

Read more: Huddersfield Town’s Ben Wiles transfer success where Burnley missed out is promising sign

Late window signings that went well for Huddersfield Town

Mark Hudson (summer 2014): Included here as much for his influence off the pitch as on it, the centre-back was a deadline-day signing from Cardiff City back in August 2014, helping to bolster the defensive options of a side that had conceded 18 goals in their first seven games in league and cup.

Having been Bluebirds skipper at the time Town signed him, Hudson quickly took the captain’s armband at the John Smith’s Stadium too and helped bring about a quick improvement in results under new boss Chris Powell, who arrived as manager just a few days after deadline day. Hudson went on to play a part in the 2017 promotion before hanging up his boots and moving into a coaching role.

Karlan Grant (January 2019): Town were already well on course to be relegated from the Premier League midway through the 2018/19 season, with a relatively quiet transfer window and David Wagner’s departure only adding to the sour move – but there was one tiny silver lining in the signing of Grant from Charlton Athletic.

It says a lot about how badly Town had struggled in that second top-flight season that Grant’s four goals meant he ended the season as their top scorer – but his 19 Championship strikes the following season were absolutely vital in helping them narrowly avoid the double drop into League One, and they cashed in at exactly the right time as they raked in a reported £16m transfer fee they got from West Bromwich Albion for a very tasty profit.

Jonas Lossl (January 2020): Kamil Grabara’s head injury earlier in the month left Town short of an established goalkeeper at a crucial time in the season, but nobody expected that they might be able to get in someone of Lossl’s calibre in for a second spell at the club.

That’s what happened, though, with the Dane taking a massive pay cut to re-join Town having tired of sitting on the bench at Everton. His dominant performances were crucial in helping Town avoid a second straight relegation.

Michal Helik (summer 2022): Town looked to have good defensive options last summer despite losing Levi Colwill and Naby Sarr, with Matty Pearson, Tom Lees and Yuta Nakayama looking like forming a formidable back three in prospect.

The broken foot Pearson suffered in the final pre-season friendly of the summer changed the complexion considerably, however, forcing Town to open the purse strings to bring in a replacement. Barnsley’s Helik was, for some reason, still available on deadline day, and Town were able to get him signed up; he went on to win the fan-voted player of the year award in his debut season. Decent.