Why Morgan Fox could be a smashing signing for Huddersfield Town
According to claims from TEAMtalk, as relayed by the Nottinghamshire Live, Huddersfield Town are among a host of EFL Championship clubs chasing Sheffield Wednesday defender Morgan Fox ahead of the January transfer window.
Derby County, West Brom, Nottingham Forest and Blackburn Rovers are also in the race to sign the 26-year-old, who is out of contract at Hillsborough in the summer of 2020 (TEAMtalk h/t Nottinghamshire Live)
As per the report, Sheffield Wednesday could look to cash in on the former Welsh U-21 international during the mid-season transfer period to avoid losing him for free at the end of the ongoing campaign, and his imminent availability on a cut-price deal has put several other clubs on red alert.
Fox has established himself as a regular fixture at left-back under the stewardship of Garry Monk this term, with the 26-year-old starting 14 games for the Owls in the Championship so far and playing his part perfectly well in the club’s strong start to the campaign.
The Chelmsford-born defender rose through the youth ranks of Charlton Athletic and went on to make 116 appearances for the Addicks before completing a switch to Sheffield Wednesday back in January 2017.
The Welshman has since featured as one of the mainstays of the Owls’ backline in the second-tier but his unresolved contract situation means that his long-term future at Hillsborough remains up in the air beyond the ongoing campaign.
Meanwhile, Huddersfield Town were held to a 1-1 draw by relegation rivals Wigan Athletic in the Championship this weekend, as the Terriers missed a golden opportunity to climb further up the table and widen the gap on the bottom-three in the division.
Danny Cowley’s side failed to make much of an impact at the DW Stadium and were very much in danger of suffering a defeat, only to be bailed out by star man Karlan Grant, who scored his 12th goal of the campaign to cancel out Josh Windass’ first-half opener.
Despite showing obvious signs of improvement over the past three months under the stewardship of Cowley, the Terriers are still languishing in the bottom half of the table and there is surely a lot more work to be done if they are to steer themselves to safety, leave alone securing a respectable mid-table finish, in the Championship.
As evident from Huddersfield’s tally of 24 goals scored and 34 conceded in 22 games, the club’s struggles at both ends of the pitch have been quite apparent. While one might argue that the Terriers would be better of spending money to improve their attack in January, the utility of some defensive recruits certainly can’t be played down.
The acquisition of veteran right-back Danny Simpson back in September has certainly added a lot more steel to the Terriers’ brittle backline but question marks continue to linger over the futures of several other players at the back.
Terence Kongolo, who is capable of playing at both centre-back and left-back, has been linked with a move away from the John Smith’s Stadium in January (Fotomac h/t Examiner Live), and the out-of-favour Dutchman is among a whole host of players that Cowley could look to move on during the mid-season trading period in order to free up space for new arrivals.
With Kongolo only playing sporadically under the current manager and youngster Jaden Brown currently struggling with an injury, Cowley has called upon Florent Haderjgonaj, primarily a right-back by trade, to fill in on the left-hand side of the backline.
Verdict
To put things into perspective, Huddersfield currently lack adequate depth in their left-back options and it is easy to see that the arrival of a specialist like Morgan Fox in January could hand a significant boost to the manager’s squad dynamics.
The 26-year-old is very much in his prime, and a wealth of Championship experience with Charlton and Sheffield Wednesday means that he could possibly make an immediate impact if a move to the John Smith’s Stadium does materialize in January.
As per whoscored, Fox averages 2.1 tackles, 1.3 interceptions, 2.6 clearances, 0.9 crosses, 0.9 key passes and 2.4 long balls per game in the Championship this season, figures which lie testament to his well-rounded attributes at both ends of the pitch.
Furthermore, the Terriers would be well within their rights to try and negotiate a cut-price deal for the Welshman, who is out of contract at Hillsborough in 2020.
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All in all, Huddersfield Town beating off competition from their rivals to secure the services of Morgan Fox on a cut-price deal in January could be an excellent piece of business, as they look to ensure safety in the second-tier.
