Huddersfield Town urged to launch Chelsea transfer raid for 'firecracker' - but only on one condition | OneFootball

FLW's Terriers Fan Pundit claims it's possible Leo Castledine could permanently sign for the club in the future.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Huddersfield Town have had an inconsistent first half of the 2025-26 League One season, but one of their standouts has been provided by Chelsea in the form of Leo Castledine.

The 20-year-old has emerged as a key player for the Terriers this season, being second to Joe Taylor as the club's joint leading scorer with six goals across all competitions - the latter has seven, but three of his strikes have been in the EFL Trophy.

Castledine has improved leaps and bounds from last season's stint in League One with struggling Shrewsbury Town, where former boss Gareth Ainsworth described him as a 'firecracker', and that is perhaps down to the better quality of team-mate that surrounds him, but at some point between January and the end of the season, a decision will need to be made as to whether Huddersfield make a permanent move for the former England youth international.

Huddersfield Town told to "absolutely" launch a permanent move for Chelsea prospect Leo Castledine

Speaking about Castledine’s contribution this season, FLW's Huddersfield Fan Pundit, Graeme Rayner, was full of praise for the Chelsea loanee’s influence on the Terriers’ campaign so far, but he believes that Town may need to win promotion in order to land him on a full-time basis.

"Leo Castledine has been a standout performer this season, and it’s a lot, he’s someone who can really impact games and he’s definitely been an asset," Graeme told FLW.

"If a move were feasible, then we absolutely should try and launch a permanent move for him. However, I think the only way that would be feasible is if we secure promotion to the Championship.

"And so, it’s a difficult one to say. But yeah, if we were promoted and able to sign him permanently I’d really welcome that, I think he can do a job in the Championship."

At this stage, Castledine has seemingly shown enough in a Terriers shirt to suggest his development curve is pointing firmly upwards, and that he would not look out of place stepping up a level with Town if they can get back into the second tier.

That is why Rayner talks about him as someone who can “really impact games” rather than just a promising youngster finding his feet.

Leo Castledine predicted to not "scale those heights" achieved by ex-Huddersfield Town loanee Levi Colwill

Rayner also spoke about Huddersfield’s recent history with Chelsea loanees, using Levi Colwill as a benchmark for how highly he rates Castledine - while still keeping expectations sensible.

"The last loanee we had from Chelsea was, as far as I recall, Levi Colwill, and I remember at the time thinking this guy is destined to play football at the highest level. He’s since gone on to play for England and become club World Cup champion," Rayner added.

"I don’t think Leo Castledine will scale those heights, but I do think he will be a very capable Championship player in the next few years. Potentially, sort of lower half of the Premier League as he gets older, but definitely we should try and sign him if we can."

In short, from Rayner’s perspective, Huddersfield have landed a loanee who sits somewhere between very good for League One now and a solid Championship player in the future.

In a report done by The Athletic’s Simon Johnson, Castledine's performances have already drawn admiration from Chelsea's technical staff, which suggests they view him as a talent worth investing in long-term - but he's likely not going to make it at Stamford Bridge, such is the amount of attacking talent they have.

All in all, Castledine is a player "absolutely" worth having on a permanent basis at Huddersfield, but it may only potentially only happen if Lee Grant achieved promotion at the end of the season.