Update on Huddersfield Town deal for Luton striker emerges | OneFootball

The Terriers may miss out on this striker target late in the window.

Huddersfield Town's move to Luton Town forward Joe Taylor is on the rocks.

Alan Nixon has reported that the Terriers' attempt to sign the 21-year-old is in limbo, as the Hatters attempt to bring in a forward before letting Taylor leave on loan.

The options of taking Taylor on permanently or temporarily have both been on the cards for Huddersfield throughout this summer, but now it seems that they miss out on him entirely.

Huddersfield's uncertain move for Joe Taylor

Nixon stated earlier in the window that they were the club that were most keen on taking the Welshman, who Luton seemed willing to let go, at least for the season.

Luton manager Rob Edwards said that both the 21-year-old and John McAtee could depart Kenilworth Road before the deadline. McAtee has gone to Bolton Wanderers for the remainder of the campaign, but Taylor has stayed with his parent club.

He had gone up to Yorkshire to hold talks with Huddersfield about a loan deal, as per Nixon, but now the chances of him making the switch to the northern side is up in the air.

This isn't the first time that the Terriers have been left waiting for a Luton decision in this saga. They reportedly thought that a deal was close to completion at the start of the month, but they weren't able to get it over the line then as the Championship side hadn't given them the green light. They were looking to add a forward to fill Taylor's spot in the case that he did leave.

Now Huddersfield find themselves in an annoyingly similar position as they were previously, but now with even less time to resolve the situation/find an alternative than they did earlier in August.

Luton are said to be in the race for Leicester City forward Tom Cannon, alongside Burnley, Hull City and Sunderland. A deal that would see him go to Kenilworth Road could be the trigger in the domino effect that would see Taylor end up at the John Smith's Stadium.

There are no guarantees that this will happen, and Michael Duff's side will be left in striker limbo until further notice.

Missing out on Joe Taylor would be a big blow for Huddersfield

The Terriers have been able to acquire one young, talented forward in the midst of this Taylor saga. Callum Marshall has arrived on a season-long loan from West Ham United. He got his account open with a goal against Shrewsbury Town in the side's most recent league outing.

Marshall may prove to be a neat bit of business. His goalscoring record at youth level (18 goals in 14 games in the 2023/24 Premier League 2 season) suggests that he is a very capable finisher of the ball. That is yet to be fully tested and proven in the EFL though, something that Taylor very much is.

His two loan spells in the previous campaign were fantastic. He found the back of the net in 11 of his 25 League Two appearances for Colchester United. The 21-year-old then stepped up a league to play for Lincoln City and bagged 10 in 19 there.

That comes to 21 goals in 41 league appearances - brilliant figures. Getting him would almost certainly guarantee goals for a promotion-chasing Huddersfield side. Missing out on someone like that, through no fault of your own, will be a bitter pill to swallow.