Huddersfield Town: Michael Duff could have his Alfie May/Devante Cole already: View | OneFootball

Huddersfield Town need goalscorers if they are to bounce back to the Championship at the first time of asking next season.

The Terriers could only muster 48 goals in the second-tier last season, the fifth-least in the league, as they were relegated to League One after finishing 23rd.

German Andre Breitenreiter was hired as Town manager in February, but left by mutual consent following the end of the season on May 10, with former Swansea City boss Michael Duff then appointed on May 13 ahead of a huge season in the third-tier.

Terriers fans will be pleased to know that the 46-year-old has a track record of helping turn unsettled, unpredictable strikers into prolific goalscorers, as manager of his previous clubs.

Alfie May became one of League One's leading marksmen whilst Duff was in charge of Cheltenham Town, as did Devante Cole when the Northern Irishman was at the helm at Barnsley.

If Duff can do similar with Serbian striker Bojan Radulovic in 2024/25, that could turn Town from a possible playoff-chasing side into one of the best teams in the third tier.

Duff was a lifeline to May and Cole

When Duff signed Alfie May for Cheltenham Town in January 2019, the then-26-year-old had failed to make an impression in the EFL in his time at Doncaster Rovers - scoring just 10 goals in 94 league games across three years.

May netted six goals in 14 games in all competitions in his first half-season, then 12 in 52 as the club were promoted as League Two champions in 2020/21, but he kicked on under Duff in League One by bagging 23 goals in 46 league games in 2021/22 and finishing as the third-highest scorer in the third-tier.

It is fair to say that the guidance of Duff changed the trajectory of the former-non-league marksman's career - he was a key asset for the Robins and became the highest EFL goalscorer in the history of the club before his big move to Charlton Athletic last summer.

In an interview with GloucestershireLive following Duff's 2022 departure from the Robins, May stated that he was "a superb man manager" that "got the most success out of (him) as a professional player".

Duff worked similar miracles for Devante Cole at Barnsley, after he took over the Tykes in June 2022.

Cole had only notched double figures in a single English football season once in seven attempts before the 2022/23 campaign, but Duff was able to build around the former Fleetwood man - with the experienced James Norwood as his striking partner - and he netted 15 times in 45 league games as Barnsley just missed out on promotion with a 1-0 loss to Sheffield Wednesday in the play-off final.

Both players clearly thrived under Duff's tutelage and have continued to impress since, so Huddersfield fans and players alike will hope that he can work some of that magic on their misfiring strikers.

Duff needs to get the best out of Bojan Radulovic

Huddersfield's strikers scored a combined eight league goals in 2023/24, with Radulovic offering little more than his teammates after his January arrival from HJK Helsinki on a three-and-a-half-year deal believed to be worth around £1.2 million.

Despite arriving with a strong reputation after scoring 25 times in 42 games in the 2023 season for the Finnish champions, Radulovic did not adapt well to life in the Championship and only found the net once, the opener in a 1-1 draw away at Stoke City in April, in 11 league games for the Terriers as they were relegated to League One.

Radulovic is still contracted at the club until 2027, so is likely to be a part of Duff's plans going forward, and the new Town boss will surely fancy his chances in turning the Serbian youth international into a consistent goalscorer in the third tier.

He was the Veikkausliiga's top scorer for 2023, and even netted six goals in 13 games this season across the UEFA Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League prior to his move to West Yorkshire so the pedigree and hunger for goals is clearly there.

Duff clearly has the ability to turn strikers that are low on confidence into goal machines - if he can do similar with Radulovic, then that could be the difference between Huddersfield remaining in League One or bouncing back to the Championship at the first time of asking.