Huddersfield Town Summer 2020 Transfer Review

With the Summer 2020 transfer window slamming shut, I thought it would be good to review Town's transfer dealings and my ratings for them.
Town never really got going in the window with their first signing coming 21 days into the window when Town re-signed Danny from Cardiff. Carel Eiting was Town’s final signing which was done 27 days before the end of the window. Town then did go and sign free agent Alex Vallejo 2 days after the closing of the window... 2 minutes before I was about to publish this article.
Town officially signed 7 players – although only 6 of those are first-team signings. On the other hand, Town let go 12 players permanently while loaning out a further 4 players. Town also lost a further 6 players who returned to their parent clubs. Although this may seem like a lot of players leaving and not many coming in, 6 players returned to the Town from their respective loans.
It could be said, that it has been a good window in getting the club’s highest earners off the wage bill. Elias Kachunga, Terence Kongolo, Steve Mounie, Florent Hadergjonaj and Ramadan Sobhi were all let go. The club also received just under £30 million in player sales, although it must be stressed, that many of these sales will be in instalments. In my opinion, getting these 5 players off the wage bill is more important than the transfer fee received for them.
Although I get the feeling that Town’s business is not 100% done yet (with potentially another Spaniard coming through the door) even though the window has closed, the players they have brought in do improve the playing squad. Pipa and Eiting and Sarr are the big improvements for me. I think if you look at Chelsea this season, they have signed 6/7 first-team players and have struggled to integrate them in properly. So if Town were to implement Corberan's new system while also bringing in a full new squad of players, there may have been even more problems.
While I still think the club could have signed more players or even signed more players for the future like what they did with Josh Koroma last season, I think it is a good thing that Town have not gone and made any huge money signings which could threaten the club's financial future. I also like how Corberan has really improved players like Mbenza and Stearman - two players I thought were nailed on to be sold.
Furthermore, Town has shifted towards developing the youth players we already have and integrating them through into the first-team set-up. I would much rather Town brought through players like Ben Jackson, Matty Daly, Brahima Diarra etc than bring Robbie Gotts in on loan and develop other clubs players.
Town has known since January that Karlan Grant was moving to West Brom (and probably knew even before that that WBA was interested.) So I don't get why Town was waiting until 2 minutes before the EFL deadline to sign Rolando Aarons. Although, this could not be Town's fault at all. It could have been an issue with the player's agent or Newcastle and was completely out of the club's hands. If it was in the club's hands then they can only blame themselves for the deal not being done.

Transfer Ratings

Danny Ward

I don't think Danny is going to set the world alight this season, but I think this is a solid signing when he is fit. He scored seven goals mostly all off the bench for Cardiff last season, so if he can replicate this for Town he will be a big addition, filling the void left by Mounie. 6/10

Joel Pereira

Not seen much of him yet, seems like a good back-up. I know he had a poor season at Hearts last year and then let 4 goals in in 12 minutes against Liverpool U23s, but then again he is from Manchester United so he should be ok. 5/10

Pipa

When I saw Corberan appointed, I was looking forward to the Foreign talent he would be bringing with him. Pipa is superb and considering he plays with Spain U21s, it looks like we have robbed Espanyol considering we only paid £500,000. Hopefully, more will follow in the following windows or maybe a certain player who he played with at Espanyol who is now a free agent. 9/10

Naby Sarr

2 Games, 4 points. Sarr adds much-needed competition to the backline. A left-footed centre-half in his late 20s for free do not come around often. This is a brilliant bit of business by Town, the only shame is that we didn't bring him in earlier. 7/10

Carel Eiting

When you have played with Frenkie De Jong, Donny Van de Beek and Matthijs de Ligt, you must be an accomplished player to some degree. He fills the hole which hasn't been filled since Mooy left last season. I would not hesitate to make the transfer permanent if he keeps up with these recent performances. 9/10

Alex Vallejo

After being without a club since January 2020, Alex signed for Town on a 1-year deal. He can play as a holding midfielder while also being able to play at centre back. Although he seems like nothing special, he will be able to add cover and competition to Hogg. I will admit I do not know much about him, but he is looking more like a squad signing. 6/10

Window Overall

I think I would have liked to have seen a few more players through the door. Another number 10, a 9 and a winger along with a few players for the B team or to develop. While I think the window has been good that we have got the high earners off the wage bill, I think the lack of investment in the squad is worrying. I think people have made out we had a worse window than we actually have had. The season ticket debacle and lack of direct communication between the club and fans have not helped. It has got to the point now where they are going to get criticised for anything that they do, even if it actually a good thing. As I have said in previous articles, I try to stay positive about most things and while I don't want to become too negative, but also not become oblivious to what is happening at the club. I would rate the transfer window a 5/10 but that is mainly down to getting the high earners off the wage bill and for the few players that we have signed being very good.