Huddersfield Town fans are realistic when it comes to how this summer is going to unfold.

The signing of five free agents has boosted Carlos Corberan’s squad, adding some much-needed depth. However, the Town faithful aren’t so naive to think that their star players might not be sold on this summer to ease spending elsewhere.

And, over the last couple of days, talk of that first high-profile exit has emerged in the form of Pipa.

According to Record, Sporting CP are interested in a deal for the right-back, just 12 months on from his £500k arrival at the John Smith’s Stadium. The Portuguese champions offer an exciting opportunity and, at a reported €2m, are eyeing an absolute steal.

Breaking down the numbers from Pipa’s debut season in England, it’s an easy conclusion to make that he’s worth more than that mere rumoured fee. And, when you consider just how well suited he is to Corberan’s style of play, Huddersfield shouldn’t be considering anything but an offer that’s too good to turn down.

 

 

The headline stats everybody will be drawn to are two goals and four assists for the 23-year-old. Pipa was attack-minded from right-back and offered the perfect balance to Harry Toffolo on the opposite side. Between that pair, they offered Huddersfield’s biggest threat when things were going well.

Corberan’s expansive style offered Pipa freedom to get forward, whether he lined up as a traditional right-back or as a wing-back towards the final third of the campaign. 30 shot assists across the season suggest a tally of four assists could have been a lot higher had the Spaniard’s teammates shown more efficiency.

Pipa delivered high numbers with both his dribble success (51.9%) and his crossing accuracy (34.3%), underlining not just his attacking intent, but also the quality he provides in the final third.

That suited Corberan’s style perfectly, with the below heat map (Wyscout) showing how Pipa played on the front foot, getting into dangerous positions down the right, and provided box-to-box performances.

Should he move on, the likelihood is that Ollie Turton, who has just arrived on a free transfer from Blackpool, would be seen as his replacement.

Turton is perhaps a more solid option and offers a little bit of extra reliability defensively, but he doesn’t offer the attacking outlet Pipa does. His heat map from the 2020/21 campaign with Blackpool shows there’s ambition to get forwards, but it doesn’t quite match Pipa.

Pipa’s attacking quality and influence on the Huddersfield side outweighed the defensive flaws in his game. It would be foolish to overlook the fact that Pipa was part of a defensive unit that conceded more goals than anyone else in the Championship; the Spaniard was sometimes caught out of position and left his teammates exposed.

However, his defensive numbers were hardly terrible.

A total of 124 interceptions across the season averaged out at 3.41 per 90 minutes, whilst 239 ball recoveries came at 6.57 per 90.

Pipa’s ability to mix his attacking game with some steady defensive numbers and good use of the ball (81.4% pass accuracy) makes him one of the standout right-backs on show in the Championship. He’s ideal for Corberan’s style of play, whether that’s as a full-back or a wing-back.

New signings like Turton and Matty Pearson will only elevate his game heading into 2021/22, but the worry is whether Huddersfield can hang onto him.

Given his importance, you feel it would have to be a bank breaking offers to get Huddersfield considering moving him on. That makes speculation of a €2m move to Portugal laughable and a non-starter for many supporters.

Those fans are realistic with regard to what might unfold this summer and aren’t demanding the board move heaven and earth to make the squad competitive or keep their star men.

What they won’t accept, though, is unambitious sales on the cheap.