Huddersfield Town manager Danny Cowley is closing in on a reunion with Lincoln City left-back Harry Toffolo, as he looks to sign him for his current club.
The Terriers are currently battling against back-to-back relegations in the Championship following their drop from the Premier League, but times are better now than at the start of the season thanks to the appointment of former Lincoln City coaches Danny and Nicky Cowley.
Their appointment in September led to a very strong unbeaten run that lifted them off the bottom of the table and out of the relegation zone, before a huge injury crisis plundered the side back into a dogfight in recent months.
This transfer window has given Cowley the chance to strengthen his Terriers squad for the first time and has done so very well with the three signings Richard Stearman, Emile Smith-Rowe and Andy King. Now, it has been reported that Harry Toffolo is the next name to make his way through the door at the John Smith’s Stadium, according to Sky Sports’ Lyall Thomas.
With a potential reunion on the cards between player and manager here, we take a look Toffolo’s numbers so far this season to see whether Cowley is making the right decision to raid his former club…
Before and after Cowley’s departure, Toffolo was an integral player at Sincil Bank, as he earned a place in last season’s PFA League Two Team of the Season at left-back.
He has continued this rich vein of form this season in the division above for the Imps, becoming an ever-present this season, making a total of 31 appearances in all competitions and clocking up a whopping total of 2907’ minutes played. In that time, the 24-year-old has registered three assists and even managed to score one earlier on in the campaign against Southend United at home.
Going forward is certainly one of the former Norwich man’s strength, given his accuracy with the ball at his feet. The Imps defender has averaged a passing accuracy of 75.7%, which outlines how solid he has been in possession under both Cowley and now Michael Appleton. On top of this, he has managed a crossing accuracy of 29% this season and while that might seem low, it has to be said that averaging nearly a third of you crosses to find a man in a crowded penalty area from left-back is a great return and a reason for why he has three assists.
As a left-back, Toffolo’s main priority is how well he can defend, obviously. In his 31 appearances so far this season, he’s done very well in that department too and could slot right into the Huddersfield side that have been doing a lot of defending this season.
Overall, Toffolo has won 65.8% of his defensive duels at Lincoln, a very high number for a defender operating in the bottom half of League One. Broken down, even more, his aerial duels are impressive too, winning more than half of his duels with 55.8% at the moment.
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His interceptions have been immense too for the Imps, as he averages 4.89 per game over the whole season, something that not many defenders can manage, regardless of the division.
On the whole, the numbers prove that this would be a solid signing for Cowley and the Terriers, but the manager obviously won’t have needed any convincing given that he was the one to bring him to Sincil Bank at the start of last season.
It is yet to be confirmed but all signs are pointing towards Cowley making his fourth signing as Huddersfield boss and he cannot go wrong with a player who would slot seamlessly into his system, given that he spent over a year operating in it.