Huddersfield Town completed the signing of former Sheffield United centre-back Richard Stearman in January on a free transfer, and since, he has been a revelation.

The Terriers have managed to steady the decline since the appointment of Danny Cowley in September, lifting the club out of the relegation zone and looking to consolidate the squad that has seen a lot of changes over the last 18 months.

Their form had taken a dip in recent months following multiple injuries to key players, which forced Cowley into fielding a number of young and inexperienced players in a host of positions around the festive period.

The January transfer window was greeted with a lot of relief by Huddersfield Town fans as they managed to plug sizeable gaps in the squad with the arrival of Richard Stearman, Emile Smith-Rowe, Andy King and Harry Toffolo.

The quartet all made their debuts in the impressive 0-0 draw to Brentford, with all but King starting at the John Smith’s Stadium. One player who has impressed particularly since coming in was Stearman, who has come in and shored up the defence massively in recent weeks, helping ease the worry of relegation this season.

After his performances already cementing his place at the back for Huddersfield, we take a look at his start to life under Cowley…

So far, he has played every minute of every game for the Terriers in the league, amounting to a total of 299’ minutes played in a Huddersfield shirt. Overall, Stearman has been brilliant at the back for Huddersfield, averaging a rate of 74.8% success in all of his actions on a football pitch. 

Breaking this down further, the centre-back’s defensive duels have been a massive strength of his, with a success rate of 73.3% in his first three appearances.

Having lost Tommy Elphick to a season-ending knee injury, Stearman has had to come in to help fill the void of both defensive prowess and experience alongside Christopher Schindler. In the air, Stearman has been dominant too with a win percentage of 70.6% against his opponents, which is very much above average compared to his Championship counterparts.

A major reason for why Stearman was brought into Cowley’s side was to add that experience and intelligence at the back that the more youthful players they had to call upon lacked in, which is exemplified in how well he recovers possession for the Terriers.

Do you know where these former Terriers are playing now?

So far he has managed to average 6.32 interceptions per game and 12.34 recoveries per game, definitely above average compared to the defenders currently in the club. His form at the moment is proving just how good a piece of business this could be, come the end of the season.

One criticism that could have been had with Danny Cowley’s defence this season is their lack of ball retention when playing out from the back. Stearman has already demonstrated his abilities in possession, with a passing accuracy of 87.8% so far, very much strengthening the idea of how well he has started in recent weeks.

It was a smart move to bring in Stearman from Cowley and these numbers back it up. Having not played in the last few months, it wouldn’t have been surprised to see Stearman take time to find his feet, but he has bedded into the system very well early on and looks to be a top acquisition.