Why Huddersfield Town should beat Sheffield Wednesday for Josh Sims
According to the Sheffield Star, Huddersfield Town are among a host of clubs interested in securing the services of Southampton winger Josh Sims on loan for the remainder of the season.
The 22-year-old, who spent the first half of the ongoing campaign on loan at New York Red Bulls in the Major League Soccer, has returned to St. Mary’s following the end of his loan spell but Sims apparently doesn’t feature in manager Ralph Hasenhuttl’s plans moving forward.
The Terriers, though, are expected to face stiff competition from Sheffield Wednesday in the race to sign Sims, who made just eight league appearances for New York Red Bulls during the first half of the campaign. (h/t Sheffield Star)
Born in Yeovil, Sims joined Southampton’s academy back in 2011 and impressed for the U-23 side at the Premier League 2 level before making his senior professional debut for the Saints against Everton in the Premier League back during the 2016-17 season.
However, the winger has struggled to establish himself in a substantial role at his boyhood club, accumulating only 27 appearances in all competitions so far. Sims spent the first half of the previous campaign on loan at Reading in the EFL Championship but was recalled by the Saints midway through the season after struggling for regular action at the Madejski Stadium.
Meanwhile, Huddersfield Town crashed out of the FA Cup with a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Southampton this weekend and the pressure is right back on the Terriers to bounce back when they make the trip to Oakwell to face Barnsley on Saturday, having suffered a heavy 5-2 loss against Stoke City in their previous league outing.
A few arrivals and departures are expected at the John Smith’s Stadium before the end of the January transfer deadline, with manager Danny Cowley keen to reshape his squad as per his liking. (h/t Examiner Live)
The manager has already deemed the likes of Terence Kongolo, Herbert Bockhorn, Isaac Mbenza and Adama Diakhaby surplus to requirements (ht Examiner Live) while another fringe player, Reece Brown, recently completed a loan move to Peterborough United.
Cowley has managed to pull the club out of the relegation zone since taking over the reins back in September but he still has a lot of work to do during the second half of the campaign in order to ensure safety for the Terriers in the Championship, with the West Yorkshire outfit only five points clear of the bottom three at the moment.
A tally of 30 goals scored and as many as 42 conceded in 26 games so far clearly epitomizes the need for some improvement at both ends of the pitch and Cowley will surely need to plug at least some of the holes in his squad before the end of the month.
With the likes of Mbenza, Diakhaby, Josh Koroma, Fraizer Campbell and Elias Kachunga failing to make much of an impact so far this term, Karlan Grant has been forced to shoulder the club’s goalscoring workload single-handedly.
Verdict
To put things into perspective, the Terriers are somewhat short of specialist wide options in their ranks, with Cowley relying on the likes of Juninho Bacuna and Lewis O’Brien in recent weeks. An out-and-out winger like Josh Sims would possibly make a positive difference to the manager’s team dynamics.
The 22-year-old might have struggled to cut the teeth in the Premier League but he remains an exciting wide player capable of playing on either flank, while his previous loan experience at Reading in the Championship means that Sims could settle down quickly in West Yorkshire and make an immediate impact.
Cowley, who carved out a big reputation for himself to his proficiency in nurturing young talents during his spell at Lincoln City, has handed opportunities to youngsters like O’Brien, Rarmani Edmonds-Green, Matty Daly and Demeaco Duhaney at Huddersfield.
More Huddersfield Town News
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All in all, Huddersfield Town completing a loan deal for Josh Sims in January could be a shrewd piece of business.
