Exclusive: Wigan Athletic in talks to seal Huddersfield Town transfer after Lee Grant hint | OneFootball

Wigan Athletic are in talks to sign Huddersfield Town striker Joe Taylor following a recent hint on his future, Football League World understands

It's shaping up to be a busy January transfer window on all fronts at Huddersfield Town, who are poised to sanction further incomings and outgoings as Lee Grant seeks to streamline his squad ahead of a fresh promotion push.

The Terriers will be bidding for an extra boost or two in the transfer market, having somewhat underperformed on significant expectations to date in the 2025/26 League One campaign.

Hotly tipped to challenge for the title following the previous season's disappointing mid-table finish and a subsequent squad rebuild under Grant's watch, Huddersfield are currently positioned in fifth and have enjoyed something of an upturn in form recently.

However, they remain nine points shy of second-placed Lincoln City and a strong showing in the market will be required if they are to make up considerable ground in the latter stages of the campaign and contend for automatic promotion.

Town have spared little time to date, with Football League World exclusively revealing both Ben Wiles' departure to MK Dons and initial interest in versatile Plymouth Argyle wide-man Bali Mumba, who is now set to sign imminently in a reported £1 million deal for Grant's side.

Jak Alnwick and Cameron Humphreys have been picked up from title favourites Cardiff City and Ipswich Town respectively, while the loans of Leo Castledine, Owen Goodman and Zepiqueno Redmond have all come to a premature end, with the former's exit coming in order to seal a £1 million switch to Middlesbrough from Chelsea following his eye-catching 12-goal haul from midfield.

Now, FLW has also learned of a fresh transfer development taking place at the Accu Stadium.

Wigan Athletic in talks to seal Huddersfield Town, Joe Taylor transfer

Another player could be set to depart West Yorkshire in the coming days, as Football League World can exclusively disclose that Wigan Athletic have entered talks to sign Joe Taylor.

FLW understands that the basis of the potential move is a loan deal, and there is no current indication of a purchase option being included. That could be subject to change, of course, with Taylor having endured a difficult time with the Terriers ever since his long-awaited £3 million move from Luton Town last January.

The 23-year-old forward has been in and out of the side this term after struggling to get going during the second-half of the previous campaign, and Grant recently stopped short of ruling out an exit for Taylor as he continues to manage a large squad by League One standards.

Taylor still has three years left to run on his present deal at Huddersfield, having penned a four-year contract to sign from Luton.

Joe Taylor exit makes sense for Huddersfield Town amid Wigan Athletic transfer interest

Grant has no shortage of striking options at his disposal and was always going to streamline in that area of the pitch this month, with a rejuvenated Bojan Radulovic the only centre-forward to have delivered infront of goal under the ex-Manchester United stopper.

Taylor, however, has struggled for both form and consistent game-time, with the ex-Wales youth international scoring four league goals from 19 appearances, albeit only five of which have been starts.

Joe Taylor playing for Luton against Coventry

He's managed seven strikes across all competitions courtesy of a three-goal haul in Huddersfield's EFL Trophy campaign, but has lacked goalscoring consistency since his productive 2023/24 season on loan at Colchester United and Lincoln.

At his age, Taylor needs to be playing regular football, which doesn't appear available to him in Yorkshire at this moment in time, and a potential departure would make sense for all parties, while Wigan themselves could land a striker with previous pedigree at this level and who could certainly refind that touch under Ryan Lowe.