Huddersfield Town must be wary of Crystal Palace repeat with Sunderland transfer talk | OneFootball

There are parallels that Huddersfield need to be wary of between Matty Young and Owen Goodman, who flattered to deceive in West Yorkshire last season

Huddersfield Town are on the hunt for a new first-choice goalkeeper, and their pursuit has seen them take another look at young, upcoming shot-stoppers from Premier League clubs.

Football Insider is reporting that Sunderland's Matty Young is on their radar, following a couple of brilliant seasons at Salford City in League Two.

A teenage goalkeeper rarely gets much first-team exposure in the EFL, given the demands that are bestowed upon the position, but the Academy of Light graduate has been one of the more impressive shot-stoppers in the fourth tier over the past couple of seasons.

The 19-year-old hit headlines when he first emerged in the Ammies' fold in December 2024, keeping seven clean sheets in his first eight League Two outings. He'd fluctuate between starting games and being the backup, but his second loan spell this past season saw him as the true number one.

Young kept 15 clean sheets in 44 fourth-tier games in the 2025/26 campaign, as Salford came agonisingly close to earning promotion to League One, finishing a point off the automatic places before losing in the play-off final to Notts County.

Evidently, his natural next step will be to move to a side in the third tier as he looks to progress even further towards being the number one at his parent club, and while he's shown promise and could be a play-off calibre goalkeeper in League One, Huddersfield should be wary of suffering a bit of de ja vu when it comes to promising keepers who excelled in League Two.

Owen Goodman was excellent in League Two, but flopped at Huddersfield Town

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This time last year, the same amount of hype that Young is receiving was being attributed to Crystal Palace youngster Owen Goodman, following an exceptional fourth-tier campaign on loan at AFC Wimbledon.

Johnnie Jackson's side was renowned for being difficult to break down during the 2024/25 term, and a lot of that was down to the Canadian in between the sticks.

The 22-year-old conceded just 35 times in League Two, keeping 21 clean sheets along the way. He'd add another three shutouts to that tally during the play-offs, as the Dons secured promotion to the third tier without conceding a goal.

Despite AFC Wimbledon's third-tier status, Palace deemed him able to be the number one at a promotion-chasing League One club, so they loaned him out to Huddersfield instead, but his hype quickly died down under the bright lights at the Accu Stadium.

Goodman kept four clean sheets in his opening five games, and that's unfortunately about as good as it got for him. Huddersfield's form under Lee Grant quickly derailed, and the 22-year-old lost his place following a red card he picked up after wiping out David McGoldrick in a loss against Barnsley in late August.

He would remain on the bench after his suspension, but did briefly return in the league for November's run of fixtures, which saw him concede seven in a four-game run, including three against his former club, AFC Wimbledon, which included a glaring error for their second goal.

That proved to be the last time Goodman played for Huddersfield, as Lee Nicholls took his spot back and the 22-year-old was relocated to Barnsley in January, keeping one clean sheet in 22 games for the Tykes.

Huddersfield Town should be wary of Matty Young following in Owen Goodman's footsteps

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Now, one year on after taking the number one shirt away from Nicholls, Huddersfield are on the hunt once again to bring in a new first-choice shot-stopper, with the 33-year-old still outlined as the backup, in an ideal world.

Young, while still a prospect, is being highlighted as one of the most promising young keepers in England, with a maiden call-up to the England under-21 squad under his belt back in August, too, albeit with no maiden cap for the age group.

Coming through the Sunderland academy, there are obvious comparisons to Jordan Pickford, who has since carved out a very impressive top-flight career and at international level.

Therefore, it's quite clear what the Black Cats think about the 19-year-old, and they'll have a keen eye on his development next season.

League One looks set to be Young's next destination, and if Huddersfield want to be among the title challengers in the third tier next season, the 19-year-old could contribute massively towards that.

But the same was said last summer about Goodman, who didn't make that step-up that many expected him to. If Young does find his way to the Accu Stadium, Terriers fans will be a little bit wary of the same happening to him.