Huddersfield Town manager Mark Fotheringham has opened up on the future of young midfielder Jon Russell, suggesting he could be on the move in January.
The midfielder has been out of favour since Mark Fotheringham arrived in September and the Terriers head coach says he hopes Russell can find 'a really good solution in January'.
The midfielder has not appeared for the first team since Fotheringham’s first game in charge, away at Reading at the start of October.
He has been an unused substitute on three occasions since then but was not included in the match-day squad for any of the most recent three games despite a shortage of experienced midfielders.
19-year-old Etienne Camara replaced Russell in the side early on in Fotheringham’s tenure at the John Smith Stadium, with fellow teenage Frenchman Brahima Diarra also emerging into the first team as a midfield option.
Speaking to Yorkshire Live, Fotheringham was open on the midfielder's future, saying: "Jon’s a good lad, he’s just found it hard under me.
"I gave him his start at Reading and it didn’t quite work out and I just feel with Etienne, Diarra and these players, I can’t hold them back any longer, and they’ve forced their way into this team.
"I’ve also got to analyse what happened at the start of this season when there was only [two wins] from 11 or 12 games and now I’m winning games with these young players, and they’re coming on and impacting games.
"I just feel that I need to keep pushing them."
That led to Fotheringham leading into suggesting Russell is not part of his plans: “I wish Jon all the best in his career and I hope that he finds a really good solution for himself in January.”
With Huddersfield sat bottom of the Championship, they will be looking they can raise funds in January to improve their squad as they look to plot their way out of the bottom three.
The Verdict
It's a surprise to see Russell not involved more often, considering his form last season under Carlos Corberan.
There's clearly a player there with bags of potential that for one reason or another has fallen out of favour with the manager.
If the 22-year-old finds himself at a club willing to invest time and opportunity in him, it could be a decision Fotheringham comes to rue.
That being said, both Diarra and Camara have been excellent in the games they've played of which Fotheringham deserves credit for.