Huddersfield Town urged to "show ambition" and capitalise on Preston player decision | OneFootball

Huddersfield Town are gearing up for their second season in League One

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...

Former Preston North End midfielder Ryan Ledson is reportedly in talks to join League One outfit Huddersfield Town.

That’s according to a report from journalist Alan Nixon via his Patreon, while it’s been claimed elsewhere that Ledson is also fancied by Oxford United, Bolton Wanderers, Plymouth Argyle and Scottish side Hibernian.

Preston confirmed at the end of the season, via their official X account, that Ledson would not be extending his seven-year spell at the club.

We asked our Huddersfield Fan Pundit, Graeme, what he makes of the potential signing.

Ledson could kickstart new dawn for Huddersfield

Speaking to Football League World, Graeme said: “Ryan Ledson would be a really interesting choice.

“He has a lot of experience. We need a replacement for Jonathan Hogg, even if he was to somehow re-sign for another season, we'd need someone there. David Kasumu can do that job, but in a very, very different way.

“And what we really lack without Jonathan Hogg is a midfielder who's going to aggressively win the ball and recycle that ball, get us forward.

“I think Ledson can do that, and he's got a lot of experience earlier in his career at League Two and League One, and then, like you say, for several seasons now in the Championship.

“So, he's the level of player we should be looking at. In the past, we've quite often looked at buying players who've either done really well in the previous season at the level we're at, or the level below we're at, and it'd be really, really good if we can bring some players in who have done really well at the level that we aspire to be, to get us there.

“Last year, we brought in Antony Evans, Lasse Sorensen, who'd both done really, really well in League One at their previous clubs, at Bristol Rovers and Lincoln, and they were disappointing.

“So, why don't we aim for someone from a division above, show ambition, and they can help us get there?

“So, yeah, it would be really interesting and it's definitely the sort of approach we should be taking.

“The main issue is that we don't have a director of football and we don't have a manager, so there's always a risk of bringing someone in without them having approved it, so any transfer at the moment is a risk, I think.

“But I would hope that he is one that most managers would be able to work with. You need someone like that in your midfield always, and we don't have anyone at the moment.

“He's available on a free, it could be a no-brainer.”

Huddersfield may be wise to take a leaf from Birmingham’s book

When Huddersfield and Birmingham City dropped down from the Championship, they were widely expected to be the strongest sides in the third tier, by some distance.

That held true for the Blues, who spent ferociously on talents, like Jay Stansfield, who were comfortably above the level, and racked up 111 points as their reward.

It was decidedly more difficult for the Terriers who, like Graeme outlines, brought in promising-looking players from predominately from those sides around and below them.

Given Huddersfield failed to even bag a play-off spot, it is clear which is the best bet.

The Terriers are unlikely to be able to spend in the same way Birmingham did, but when an opportunity like Ledson pops up on a free, it is the sort of deal Huddersfield should be opting for if they want to pivot to the blueprint laid down by this season’s League One champions.

As Graeme says, if Huddersfield want to be a Championship club again, they need to start recruiting like a Championship club; Ledson would be a great, low-cost first step down that path.