Football League World
·11 July 2024
"Stood out" - Huddersfield Town urged to consider moves for former Norwich City and Middlesbrough duo
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Football League World
·11 July 2024
FLW's Huddersfield Town fan pundit believes the club should target free agent duo Danny Batth and Paddy McNair this summer.
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 preparing for life in League One after their relegation from the Championship.
It was another year of managerial instability at the John Smith's Stadium last season, and Andre Breitenreiter was unable to keep the club in the Championship after taking over in February.
Breitenreiter left the club shortly after the end of the season, and former Cheltenham Town, Barnsley and Swansea City boss Michael Duff has been named as his replacement.
There have been a number of departures this summer, including the likes of Yuta Nakayama, Brahima Diarra, Jack Rudoni, Aaron Rowe, Connor Mahoney and Jordan Rhodes, and Duff has wasted little time in getting to work on rebuilding his squad.
The Terriers have brought in four new signings so far, with Lasse Sorensen, Mickel Miller, Herbie Kane and Antony Evans arriving at the club, and there is likely to be more to come before the end of the transfer window.
FLW's Huddersfield Town fan pundit Graeme Rayner would like to see the club make a move for defensive duo Danny Batth and Paddy McNair this summer after their departures from Norwich City and Middlesbrough respectively, but he admits there are a lack of attractive options in the free agent market.
Batth was released by the Canaries after a disappointing one-year spell at Carrow Road, while McNair left Boro at the end of his contract after scoring 14 goals and providing 16 assists in 219 games during his six-year spell at the club, and Graeme believes the Terriers should consider a swoop for the pair.
"In terms of free agents, I think most of them are uninspiring really," Graeme said.
"You look at them and think there's a reason why they're a free agent, that's the way I would interpret it.
"I think the two that stood out for me in an area that we could perhaps need to strengthen were Danny Batth and/or Paddy McNair, but are they realistic?
"Paddy McNair probably not, but Danny Batth is maybe a bit more, there are rumours that have linked us with him. "There's not a lot of players on there that are free agents and realistic that would fit with where we need to be looking. "Aaron Connolly maybe who was at Hull, we could do with bolstering our striker options, but he's not very inspiring. "There's not a lot on there that really leapt out to be honest, and I think that maybe we're not really looking at freebies now, we've probably moved for the players that were out of contract that we wanted to.
"We didn't get Alfie May, but looking at the striking options, the ones that we'd most want aren't going to drop to League One, so I think that's probably a bit of a busted flush."
Graeme is right that McNair may be out of reach for Huddersfield in League One, but Batth could be a realistic signing.
Batth is currently training with former club Wolves following his release by Norwich, and he should attract plenty of Championship interest this summer, but he could potentially be convinced to drop down to the third tier.
The 33-year-old may have had a tough year at Carrow Road last term, but he was Sunderland's Player of the Year the previous season, and he has achieved two promotions from League One during his career.
That kind of experience could be invaluable to the Terriers as they look to make an immediate return to the Championship, and Batth could be an ideal replacement for Michal Helik if he departs this summer.