Huddersfield Town fell flat with Dutch midfielder transfer – He could have been a hit for the Terriers | OneFootball

Carel Eiting had the chance to become a cult hero at Huddersfield Town, but he instead became a forgotten man in West Yorkshire

It has been a difficult few years for Huddersfield Town and there must be a feeling of major regret, with the possibility of it having been so different, and one player in particular, Carel Eiting, will be the source of much frustration and disappointment.

Huddersfield have spent relatively big to try and push themselves back to the Championship this season after a woeful couple of years for the club.

They were relegated from the Championship in the 2023/24 season, with three different managers in charge at the John Smith’s Stadium, before then collapsing in the second-half of last season to a mid-table finish in the third-tier.

However, just a couple of seasons before that, they were in the Championship play-offs, having finished third in the second-tier, as they pushed for a return to the Premier League.

They didn’t quite get themselves over the line, be it automatically or in the repêchage system, and there will be a tinge of regret over the mid-season signing of Eiting, who could have become a cult hero, rather than a forgotten man.

Carel Eiting could have been a cult hero at Huddersfield Town

Back in the 2020/21 campaign, under the management of Carlos Corberan, Huddersfield Town brought in young midfielder Carel Eiting on a season-long loan deal from Ajax.

Injuries hampered just how often he would go on to play for the Terriers that season, but he still formed a reasonably important part of the first-team squad and he therefore attracted interest from Belgian giants Genk.

However, after a disappointing few months in Belgium, Eiting returned to Huddersfield for the second-half of the 2021/22 campaign as they chased promotion to the top-flight.

The Dutchman was brought in not only to provide depth, but also bring back that extra quality and now a bit of added maturity to a side that believed they could produce one of the more surprising relegations that season.

He had the chance to become a real cult hero for Town and an assist on his second debut for the club as they defeated Derby County by two goals to nil suggested he may well be the point of difference in their promotion push – but it was not to be.

Eiting eventually went on to make just four more appearances for Huddersfield that season, occasionally not even making the squad and being left as an unused substitute on nine occasions.

In the play-offs, Eiting was then again left on the bench for both legs of their semi-final victory against Luton Town before being omitted from the squad against Nottingham Forest.

Carel Eiting failed to make a difference for Huddersfield Town

Given the promise he had shown a couple of years earlier and the fact he was someone who had good pedigree for the level, Eiting had the chance to lay a marker down and help propel Huddersfield to a new level.

Instead, the Ajax academy graduate faded into obscurity in West Yorkshire and eventually departed the club for a second time as a bit of a forgotten man that summer.

After leaving Town, Eiting has gone on to play for Volendam and Twente, as well as on loan at Sparta Rotterdam, where he spent the second-half of last season.

Now 27, the Dutchman is plying his trade with Cypriot giants Omonia Nicosia, and it would be reasonable to suggest the career and hope he had promised hasn’t been fulfilled.

For Huddersfield, they’d brought someone back who was well liked into a situation where he could nail down his status as a cult hero but, instead, they failed on their own goal and he left without much of a note.