Leyton Orient are hitting transfer jackpot at Huddersfield Town’s expense | OneFootball

Josh Koroma has started his Leyton Orient career in fine form

After reaching the League One play-offs last term, expectations are understandably high once again at Leyton Orient this season despite a mixed bag of results thus far.

Richie Wellens has earned a reputation as being one of the third-tier's strongest managers after leading the O's to the League Two title back in 2023, eventually raising the bar last season in terms of performance levels after consolidating the East London side back in the division they were previously regulars in.

Despite becoming one of the league's most competitive outfits, Orient remain a club with an extremely modest budget in comparison to a plethora of promotion or play-off chasing rivals, many of whom have recently been relegated from the Championship or have previous pedigree in the Premier League.

Therefore, Wellens and the hierarchy have been left to operate rather smartly within their means, and they are certainly showing signs of pulling off yet another transfer coup at the hands of one of League One's current promotion favourites.

Leyton Orient took a gamble on Josh Koroma following inconsistent Huddersfield Town stint

That is in reference to the capture of Josh Koroma, who moved back to E10 in the summer following a period of extremely mixed fortunes and performance levels at Huddersfield Town.

Ironically, the West Yorkshire side were the club to take a gamble on the forward's initial potential from Orient six years ago, moving to the Accu Stadium from East London after netting 20 goals across 106 appearances, during which 11 of his strikes - which sparked interest from the side then newly-relegated, ex-Premier League side - came in the National League title-winning campaign of 2018/19.

Unsurprisingly, Koroma's best spell during his lengthy stint with the Terriers came between 2020 and 2022. Firstly, a tally of eight goals in just 20 Championship appearances helped Town finish six points clear of the relegation trap door under Carlos Corberan, before continuing to feature regularly - despite a slight drop-off in terms of output - as the former West Bromwich Albion head coach and now-Valencia boss took the side to an unexpected play-off final, where they were narrowly defeated by Nottingham Forest.

The two-time Sierra Leone international then struggled for consistency in a Town shirt, and that was, bizarrely, exemplified during his final season, even though he racked up double figures in terms of goals. Despite scoring 11 times under Michael Duff and Jon Worthington, Koroma's form would come in streaks, the last of which saw him score in all four of his final appearances as Huddersfield slumped to an 11th-place finish, with his final goal coming in a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Orient in May.

Therefore, it was seen as somewhat of a gamble when Wellens agreed to re-sign the 26-year-old at Brisbane Road on a three-year contract. And, whilst it might be early days, the signs are good for the former Swindon Town boss that it will pay off.

Josh Koroma has returned to Leyton Orient with a spring in his step

As previously mentioned, whilst Orient's start to the season has been rather patchy with three wins, as many defeats and a solitary draw in the opening seven games, the same cannot be said about Koroma's form.

The former National League title-winner with the club has picked up well and truly where he left off in last season's final weeks, with a goal and assist in a 2-0 win against Wigan Athletic after an opening day defeat at Huddersfield setting the wheels in motion.

Koroma has backed that up with the winning goal against Plymouth Argyle at Home Park and another strike in a disappointing 4-1 defeat at Mansfield Town, before playing an integral role in the dramatic 3-2 success against Port Vale last weekend.

His pace on the counter-attack was key in Orient crushing the hearts of many inside Vale Park, as Darren Moore's side left themselves exposed, with Koroma calmly picking out Charlie Wellens, who slotted home a 95th-minute winner in North Staffordshire.

Such dynamism and composure will be a key weapon for the O's boss to have throughout the season, particularly against exposed and stretched defences, as well as his experience of featuring at a higher level alongside fellow summer recruit, Aaron Connolly.