David Wagner struck Huddersfield Town transfer gold - Terriers won't "ever spend £10m as well again" | OneFootball

FLW's Huddersfield Town fan pundit has reflected on the signing of Aaron Mooy

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…

Aaron Mooy proved a pivotal part of Huddersfield Town’s promotion success in 2017, and established himself as a modern-day legend at the now-named Accu Stadium.

The playmaker initially joined from Manchester City on loan in 2016, and he went on to play 45 times in the regular Championship campaign, contributing four goals and seven assists in David Wagner’s side.

The Australian also played every minute of the Terriers’ play-off triumph, where they needed penalties in victories over Sheffield Wednesday and Reading.

Mooy made the move to Huddersfield permanent following their promotion success, arriving in a deal from Man City worth a reported £10 million.

He went on to play another two full seasons with the Yorkshire outfit, including playing a pivotal role in their survival in their first year in the Premier League, registering four goals and three assists.

Huddersfield Town’s great Aaron Mooy deal

When asked how good of a deal bringing Mooy in was, FLW’s Huddersfield fan pundit Graeme Rayner claimed the club will not spend £10 million so well again for quite a long time.

He admitted that the now 35-year-old was the best player he has ever seen play for the club in his time as a supporter, and that other signings in that era really paled in comparison to the Australian.

“Aaron Mooy is hands down the best player I have seen in a Huddersfield Town shirt in my time as a Huddersfield Town supporter,” Rayner told Football League World.

“To get him on loan from Man City after they had brought him in from Australia, and hadn’t really kicked a ball for them, was a superb bit of business.

“And, I think the two best signings that summer were him and Christpher Schindler, and without those two signings we wouldn’t have been promoted.

“So then securing, I believe the transfer fee was around £8 to 10 million for Premier League football, phenomenal bit of business, really, really good.

“He was a perfect fit for the way we played football, and he was a pleasure to watch.

“When you consider in the following summer we spent more money on two players, Adama Diakhaby and Isaac Mbenza, who let’s be real weren’t fit to lace his boots.

“Phenomenal bit of business, I doubt we’ll ever spend £10 million as well again.

“Loved him to bits and he even did the right thing when it came to him leaving to go to Brighton, he just prior to that signed a new contract to make sure we would get a fair fee for his services, so he’s obviously a man of integrity and honour.

“I enjoyed watching him play for Australia at the World Cup, I thought he stood out.

“Really phenomenal player, £10 million was a bargain.”

Aaron Mooy’s career after Huddersfield Town

Mooy made the move to Brighton following Huddersfield’s relegation from the Premier League in 2019.

He spent one year with the Seagulls, playing a total of 31 times in the top flight as they finished 15th in the table.

This proved the end of his time in English football, as he made the switch to Shanghai SIPG in 2020, before moving to Shanghai Port in 2021.

Mooy did return to the UK with a move to Scottish giants Celtic in 2022, where he helped them claim another league title with four goals and 10 assists from 29 league appearances.

Aaron Mooy was a great signing for Huddersfield Town

Mooy’s impact at Huddersfield was immense, and it’s difficult to imagine them getting promoted to the Premier League without him.

He proved he could compete at a top flight level, and was also pivotal to their survival in the division beyond just one year, helping the West Yorkshire outfit to make history and defy the odds for two seasons running.

While Huddersfield did ultimately get relegated at the second time of asking, supporters will always remember that period quite fondly, particularly because of Mooy.