Football League World
·22 November 2024
In partnership with
Yahoo sportsFootball League World
·22 November 2024
Football League World's resident Huddersfield Town fan pundit wants the club to try again for Luton Town's Joe Taylor
Huddersfield Town have been urged to reignite their interest in Luton Town's Joe Taylor and strike a deal for the young striker in the January transfer window.
The Terriers were relegated from the Championship to League One at the end of the previous season. Widely backed in the pre-season promotion reckoning - albeit not to the degree of fellow third-tier newcomers Birmingham City - Town have struggled for consistency a third of the way through the 2024/25 campaign.
They currently sit in eighth position and are just three points off sixth-placed Lincoln City ahead of Charlton Athletic's visit to the John Smith's Stadium on Saturday afternoon, although their goalscoring issues will likely need to be meaningfully dealt with in the next window if they are to potentially achieve promotion come the end of the season.
Michael Duff's side are among the best defensive teams in League One, having only conceded 1.0 goals per match thus far, while just four teams have accumulated a higher xG than their 21.1.
They are, however, second in the division for big chances missed (24) and ninth for goals per match (1.5), which shows that the opportunites carved out aren't being taken and that they perhaps lack the cutting edge of their promotion rivals, too.
Meanwhile, Town also have five out-and-out strikers who have all played seven or more matches in League One, but only West Ham United loanee Callum Marshall has scored more than once. The goalscoring burden of the side is currently on the shoulders of central midfielder Ben Wiles, who has found the back of the net on five occasions, while Josh Koroma has weighed in with four of his own.
Huddersfield's interest in Taylor across the summer was no secret, with the striker having established himself as a hot property after enjoying a stunning campaign in-front of goal while on loan with both Colchester United and Lincoln City.
Taylor showed his goalscoring credentials in the third-tier at Lincoln so it's hardly a surprise that Huddersfield were among the chasing pack. According to reports, the Terriers pursued a deal although any such agreement couldn't be struck as Luton were unsure on who they were going to be able to retain following relegation from the Premier League.
However, it was additionally reported in September that Huddersfield believe an offer of £2 million may be enough to convince the Hatters to part ways with Taylor, who has found regular minutes difficult to come by back at Kenilworth Road.
The 20-year-old is yet to rack up 90 minutes of league action, having made seven appearances under Rob Edwards this term. He's facing stiff competition and has had to resort to playing a bit-part role behind the likes of Carlton Morris, Elijah Adebayo and Jacob Brown despite Luton's struggles.
When asked to name one position and one player Huddersfield should target in January, FLW's resident Terriers fan pundit - Graeme Rayner - told Football League World: "Undoubtedly centre-forward, and the name that's been mooted which I think fits the mold is Joe Taylor at Luton.
"We almost got him in the summer and the rumours are that the deal will probably be resurrected for January. What we need is a goalscoring striker who is not someone with an injury record as long as their arm.
"It's not rocket science, but unfortunately isn't something that's hard to come by in football at any level and relatively speaking, you pay a premium in January at whatever level you're at.
"But it is the glaring weakness at the moment in our squad, we have an abundance of quality for this level in defence, we've got three goalkeepers on the book who can each be the number one on their day, we've got a midfield with strength in depth but up-front, we've got a real lack of an obvious first-choice.