He might have been ostracised at Wigan Athletic – but on-loan Grant Holt is more than welcome at Huddersfield Town according to his new teammates.
The 33-year-old frontman made a bright debut from the bench as his new team collected only a second Championship win, 2-1 at home to Millwall, on Saturday.
Now Holt could start at Wolves on Wednesday, almost eight months after his last appearance in Wigan’s first XI, in the FA Cup third-round clash with MK Dons.
The Latics, then managed by Owen Coyle, paid Norwich City £2m for the rugged striker the summer before last, and handed him a three-year contract.
But he has fallen out of favour under Uwe Rosler, who loaned him to Premier League Aston Villa at the end of last season (he played 10 times and scored once).
Rosler, whose only use of Holt this term was as a substitute in the Capital One Cup first-round clash with Burton Albion in August, sanctioned the loan switch late on Friday night, but was evasive about his thinking.
“There was a reason why we loaned out Grant to Aston Villa last season,” said Rosler.
“He came back in May, and we had a good chat. He knows the score, we know the score.”
Town boss Chris Powell said after the Millwall match that former Halifax Town player Holt “has a point to prove”.
The Carlisle-born player who started out at Workington and also played non-league football for Barrow has plenty of experience.
He has racked up more than 400 appearances during a career which has also taken in Sheffield Wednesday, Rochdale, Nottingham Forest and Shrewsbury Town.
Town defender Joel Lynch believes that know how will be important during a loan stint which runs initially until November 8, when Town go to Fulham.
“Holty did a great job on Saturday, ad you can tell what he’s all about,” he said.
“He really got among their defenders, created space, won free-kicks and held the ball up.
“We’ve been struggling to keep the ball up top, especially late on, in previous matches pretty much all this season.
“His influence really helped us, especially during those five long minutes of time added on.”
Midfielder Conor Coady said news of Holt’s arrival gave the whole squad a lift ahead of the match.
“He’s a big, strong boy, and when we heard he was coming in, we were delighted,” said the former Liverpool player.
“I think he’ll help get the best out of Nahki Wells too.”
Coady’s fellow midfielder Jonathan Hogg agreed, saying: “Grant adds another string to our bow.
“Hopefully Nahki will do even better now he’s got a big target man to play off.
“Our strength before was down the sides rather than through the middle. Now we’ve got another option.”
Skipper Lee Peltier commented: “Holty gave us a real presence up front, and that’s maybe something we’ve lacked.
“James Vaughan can put himself about a bit but you wouldn’t call him an old-fashioned centre-forward.”
Vaughan remains sidelined by a calf problem.
Powell is hoping Peltier and Hogg recover from knocks picked up against Millwall in time to face Wolves. The Midlanders have a worry over right-back Matt Doherty (ankle).
