Huddersfield Town lauded over potential Crystal Palace transfer "coup" | OneFootball

FLW's Huddersfield fan pundit has given his verdict on the impending arrival of Owen Goodman

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…

Huddersfield Town are set to win the race to sign Crystal Palace goalkeeper Owen Goodman.

FLW exclusively revealed last week that the Terriers were keen on signing one of AFC Wimbledon's League Two promotion heroes from the 2024-25 season in the form of Goodman, and according to The Athletic, the Terriers are closing in on agreeing a deal with the Eagles to bring the 21-year-old to the John Smith's Stadium on a temporary deal, beating out the likes of Barnsley and Bolton Wanderers to his signature.

Goodman spent last season on loan with AFC Wimbledon, helping them gain promotion to the third tier through the play-offs.

The goalkeeper played in all 46 of their regular league fixtures, conceding 35 goals and keeping 21 clean sheets, before registering three more shutouts against Notts County and Walsall after the regular campaign had ended.

Owen Goodman signing branded a coup for Huddersfield Town and Lee Grant

When asked about Goodman’s impending signature, FLW’s Huddersfield fan pundit Graeme Rayner claimed it would be a real coup to get it over the line.

He is excited by the prospect of the goalkeeper’s arrival, citing his impressive experience despite only being 21, and is pleased to win his signature ahead of their League One rivals, although he has questioned the future of the more experienced Lee Nicholls as a result of this deal.

“If we get it, it’s definitely a coup,” Rayner told Football League World.

“He’s got a lot of experience, two loans out in League Two in the past and obviously last season was obviously a very successful season for him at Wimbledon.

“He played I think every league game and they got promoted via the play-offs, so I think that’s got to be seen as a successful season.

“He's clearly a promising young goalkeeper and I think it’s a sign of intent.

“One thing that it does cause me to question is the future of Lee Nicholls at the club, it suggests that might mean they’re looking at someone coming in for him, because I wouldn’t expect him to bring in a loan goalkeeper if Lee Nicholls was staying at the club permanently.

“But this looks like a really exciting potential loan.

“He’s still young, only 21, which for a goalkeeper is extremely young.

“But, capped with the England under-20's, he already got 80-odd league games under his belt, close to 100 appearances at club level at the age of 21 is clearly very experienced.

“So, very, very interesting, and the fact it looks like we’re beating potentially the likes of Bolton and Barnsley to him on loan again shows that we seem to be doing things really well this window.

“So, if we get him fantastic, really.”

Huddersfield have already made four signings so far this summer since appointing Lee Grant as manager, including Marcus Harness, Ryan Ledson and Sean Roughan.

Owen Goodman signing would be incredibly promising for Huddersfield Town

Goodman coming in could be a really good signing for Huddersfield, especially if Nicholls does depart the club as Graeme has alluded to

At 21, he is very promising and has already earned valuable League Two experience at both Colchester and AFC Wimbledon.

The step up to League One will be a challenge, but his performances last year suggest that he will be more than capable.

That they’ve beaten Barnsley and Bolton to his signature also bodes well for the project being built by Grant, and being a former goalkeeper himself, he will be well-positioned to help develop Goodman into becoming an even better player.