Why Huddersfield Town should avoid signing Jamie Reid in January
According to Football League World (h/t Examiner Live), Huddersfield Town have been linked with a move for Jamie Reid, who currently plies his trade with Torquay United in the National League.
Terriers boss Danny Cowley is keeping close tabs on the 25-year-old Torquay-born ace, who rose to prominence with Exeter City and bagged as many as 29 goals in the previous campaign. (Football League World h/t Examiner Live)
Jamie Reid has been in blistering form at Plainmoor this term, racking up a staggering 15 goals in 23 league and cup appearances to propel Torquay United to 6th in the Conference Premier standings.
Gary Johnson’s side are currently looking to regain their Football League status and the 25-year-old remains central to their plans of mounting a challenge for promotion.
Born in Torquay, Reid started his footballing education at Exeter City and spent eight years in the academy before making his senior professional bow against Oxford United in December 2012.
However, he struggled to establish himself as a regular fixture at his boyhood club and spent time on loan at non-league clubs Dorchester Town, Truro City and Torquay United, joining the latter permanently in October 2017.
The former Northern Irish U-21 international only managed 5 goals in all competitions for the Gulls during the 2017-18 campaign but he really set the stage on fire with a tally of 29 goals last term and looks well on course for another prolific season after gobbling up 15 goals in 23 games so far.
To put things into perspective, Jamie Reid has proven his mettle as a bonafide goalscorer at Torquay United in the National League but League Two is the highest level that he has played so far, and Huddersfield’s interest in the non-league star doesn’t strike the right chords.
At 25, Reid doesn’t really fall within the bracket of a burgeoning young talent or a prodigy who can be expected to achieve great heights in the years to come.
The Northern Irishman had a tough time establishing himself at Exeter City in the fourth-tier and while he has fired on all cylinders in the National League, one cannot help but wonder whether the Championship would be a step too far for him.
Verdict
Danny Cowley has an excellent knowledge of the non-league market, having guided Lincoln City from the obscurity of the fifth-tier to promotion glory in League Two, but one does get the feeling that Huddersfield need to scour the market for better players if they are really serious about re-establishing themselves as a Premier League club.
That’s not to say he is a bad player. Notwithstanding the fact that the Terriers are certainly in need of attacking reinforcements moving forward, Reid might find it difficult to make a direct transition from the fifth-tier to the second-tier without an intermediate step.
With top-scorer Karlan Grant attracting interest from the Premier League (h/t Examiner Live) and the likes of Steve Mounie, Elias Kachunga, Fraizer Campbell, Isaac Mbenza, Adama Diakhaby and several others struggling to rack up the goals, the Terriers need to look for some immediate game-changers in January to continue their surge up the table following a horrible start to the season.
The Terriers signed Josh Koroma as a hot young prospect in the summer following his raging success in the Conference Premier but given that the youngster has struggled to make much of an impact on the first-team, Huddersfield Town would be better off avoiding a move for Jamie Reid in January.
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With that in mind, Huddersfield Town need to shift their focus elsewhere if they are genuinely interested in bolstering their squad.