Why Huddersfield Town have struck gold with the signing of Danny Simpson
According to The Sun, Championship strugglers Huddersfield Town have completed the signing of veteran right-back Danny Simpson, who was a free agent following his release from Leicester City at the end of the previous campaign.
The 32-year-old former Man United youth product has become new manager Danny Cowley’s first signing since taking over at the John Smith’s Stadium.
Simpson was linked with moves to several Championship clubs throughout the summer, including West Brom, while Scottish championship Celtic were also in the race, but Huddersfield Town have managed to have the final say in the transfer saga, with the right-back joining the Terriers on a contract until the end of the 2019-20 season. (h/t Sun)
The news of Simpson’s arrival comes as a breath of fresh air to the fans at the John Smith’s Stadium, who are likely to be bitterly disappointed with the club’s nightmarish start to the campaign. The Terriers currently sit rock-bottom of the standings in the Championship, having failed to win any of their first eight games thus far.
Huddersfield were expected to mount a challenge for promotion back to the Premier League at the first time of asking but avoiding the ignominy of back-to-back relegations now seems to be a more realistic target for the Terriers.
The West Yorkshire outfit have been hit hard by some disastrous performances by the players in almost all the departments and a woeful goal difference of -10 pretty much sums up their campaign thus far.
The Terriers have scored only 7 goals while conceding as many as 17 in the process and it is pretty easy to see why Cowley has now turned to an experienced head like Simpson to stop the rut.
The 32-year-old will be expected to provide cover and competition at right-back, which has certainly been a problem area for the club over the past year or so, dating back to their Premier League days. Kosovan international Florent Hadergjonaj has been one of the regular faces in that position but he hasn’t really done enough offensively or defensively.
Simpson, who was a part of Leicester City’s remarkable Premier League triumph a few years ago, is not really in his prime years at the age of 32 but he has still got what it takes to add steel and grit to a backline at the Championship level.
A former promotion-winner with QPR and Newcastle United, Simpson is a more orthodox old-fashioned right-back as compared to Hadergjonaj, who likes to bomb forward with intent at every opportunity. Cowley can’t expect the veteran to provide too much in terms of attack but he is still a very solid and reliable defender, nevertheless.
The 32-year-old might not be drafted into the starting eleven this week against Millwall but his experience, in itself, would be a much-needed calming influence on the other players.
The veteran, though, will be expected to play a significant role as the season wears on and the fans will be hoping for him to keep his fitness levels up to the mark.
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All in all, this is a move that could prove to be the difference between survival and relegation and it is not difficult to see that the Terriers have struck gold with the signing of Danny Simpson.