Why striker Emeka Eze is worth a gamble for Huddersfield Town

According to claims from Turkish outlet Fotospor, Huddersfield Town are mulling over a move for Nigerian-born striker Emeka Eze, with the report suggesting that Terriers boss Danny Cowley is desperate to bring in a new striker in January.

Emeka Eze, who is currently on loan at Turkish club Adanaspor from Austrian outfit Sturm Graz, has enjoyed a prolific start to the ongoing season in the second-tier of Turkish football, scoring six goals in 9 games across all competitions.

As per the report, the 23-year-old’s blistering run of form early in the campaign has put Huddersfield Town on red alert and the Terriers are exploring the possibility of entering the negotiations with the striker’s parent club, Sturm Graz, over a potential deal in January.

However, Fotospor understands that Adanaspor, who are currently placed 13th in the TFF First League, are keen to hold on to the striker until the end of the season to launch a bid for promotion to the top-tier.

Huddersfield did well to preserve their top-flight status under David Wagner in the 2017-18 campaign but it has been a pathetic last twelve months for the West Yorkshire outfit, who currently find themselves in a relegation dogfight following their relegation from the top-flight earlier in the summer.

The Terriers have only managed a tally of 34 goals in 49 league games since the start of the 2018-19 season and such a dismal scoring record has put the club in danger of back-to-back relegations.

Newly-appointed manager Danny Cowley guided the club to their first victory in the Championship this term after nine games and while that has breathed some valuable air into their gasping campaign, the Terriers need to do a lot more stay up in the second-tier and prevent the ignominy of back-to-back relegations.

They have already taken a step to shore up their brittle backline, which has shipped 18 goals in the Championship so far, with the acquisition of free agent Danny Simpson but the lack of firepower up top continues to be a nagging issue and one that could possibly prove fatal to their hopes of climbing up the table.

Karlan Grant is the current top-scorer with 6 goals but the likes of Steve Mounie, Collin Quaner, Adama Diakhaby, Fraizer Campbell, Elias Kachunga and Isaac Mbenza have only shared two goals amongst them, a damning reflection of how things have gone horribly wrong for the Terriers this term.

To that end, the fans at the John Smith’s Stadium would certainly welcome a new striker in January with open arms, even though Emeka Eze hardly boasts of a prolific record in his professional career.

The 6ft 1in Lagos-born hitman scored only 7 times in 21 appearances for Finnish side Rovaniemen Palloseura before earning a move to Austrian heavyweights Sturm Graz in 2017 but it is not difficult to see why he is currently on loan at Adanaspor in the Turkish second-tier after netting only 8 times in 55 appearances for his parent club.

Indeed, those numbers are not enough to justify Huddersfield’s links with the striker but given that the possibility of relegation to League One looming large, the Terriers are going to find it difficult to attract too many high-profile names.

Also, he is currently on loan at another club, meaning that there could be complications in getting a deal over the line if Huddersfield do go ahead with their interest in Emeka Eze.

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However, keeping the ongoing crisis in mind, the Nigerian is certainly not going to do any worse as compared to some of the existing striking options at the club, so playing a gamble on him would make perfect sense for Danny Cowley, though he doesn’t look like a man who could possibly save them from a horror season.

Nevertheless, desperate times call for desperate measures and it won’t be a big surprise if Huddersfield push hard to bring the Nigerian to the club in January.