This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict‘ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Huddersfield Town have set their sights on Oxford United and Northern Ireland midfielder Mark Sykes, as per a report from Football Insider. 

The report states that the Terriers are among several clubs monitoring his progress at the Kassam Stadium this season, with his contract set to expire in the summer. 

Chipping in with eight goals and three assists in all competitions, Sykes has enjoyed a strong first half of the League One campaign. 

 

 

Proving to be just as valuable and influential on the wing as he is as a central midfielder, Sykes has shown excellent versatility since making the move from Northern Irish club Glenavon in January 2019. 

Three of our writers here at FLW have shared their thoughts regarding this potential deal...

Ben Wignall 

I think this could be a really smart move for Huddersfield all things considered.

With Sykes having less than six months remaining on his contract at the U's, the Terriers could take advantage and it would definitely be a step up for the Northern Irishman.

It's easy to see why Huddersfield like Sykes - he's scored four goals in his last six League One matches and has eight for the campaign in total so he provides a threat in the attacking third.

He is also able to play in a number of different midfield positions as well so he would provide Carlos Corberan with a lot of versatility in that area of the pitch.

Even though the likes of Sorba Thomas and Lewis O'Brien are key players in the positions that Sykes plays in, there's no reason why he couldn't switch to Huddersfield and be a similar kind of player - for a six-figure fee this could be a good piece of business.

Marcus Ally 

This would be a very smart piece of business.

Sykes is enjoying the best goalscoring season of his Oxford career, but has been a very consistent performer for the Yellows for a number of years.

There is already a pre-existing relationship between the two clubs with Josh Ruffels swapping the Kassam for the John Smith’s in the summer, and the Terriers’ position in the Championship table puts them in a strong position to attract players.

Carlos Corberan’s men are a little short on depth in midfield areas and with every chance that Lewis O’Brien leaves the club in one of the next few transfer windows, it would be smart future planning to bring Sykes in.

Oxford will not buckle easily, if Huddersfield do not meet their valuation then Sykes will not leave them and so there are plenty of angles to consider in this deal for the Terriers.

Josh Cole 

This could turn out to be a clever bit of business by Huddersfield as Sykes has produced some impressive performances for Oxford United this season. As well as finding the back of the net on eight occasions, Sykes has provided three assists in all competitions for the U's. When you consider that Sykes is capable of playing as a winger and as a central-midfielder, he would unquestionably add some versatility to Huddersfield's squad which could be useful for Corberan as he looks to guide the club to a play-off place later this year. Whereas it may take the midfielder some time to adapt to life in the Championship due to the fact that he has yet to feature in this division, there is no reason why he cannot eventually go on to make a positive impact for the Terriers.