Diego Poyet has all the attributes to do a top job for Huddersfield Town during his loan from West Ham United.

That’s the view of South London Press journalist Richard Cawley, who watched the teenage midfielder come through the ranks at Charlton Athletic.

Current Town manager Chris Powell was in charge of the Addicks when Poyet, 19, made his first-team debut last season.

It came from the bench in the 3-0 FA Cup third-round replay win at Oxford United in January.

Spanish-born Poyet, the son of Sunderland’s Uruguayan manager Gus, made his first start in the 2-1 Championship defeat at Wigan Athletic in February.

There were five more appearances under Powell, and 16 after Jose Riga replaced him as manager in March.

Diego Poyet during his time at Charlton Athletic
Diego Poyet during his time at Charlton Athletic

“Diego made a real impact, impressing as a holding midfielder,” explained Cawley.

“He tended to sit deep and win the ball, and the fact that he kept his place after Chris Powell left the club, and won the Player of the Year award despite featuring for only half the season, shows the way he was playing.

“Diego had a good pedigree, playing for England at Under 16 and 17 level although he also qualifies for Spain and Uruguay, and I know Chris was keen on him.

“It was no surprise when Chris gave him a debut, and it’s no surprise he was keen to bring him in at Huddersfield.

“Charlton fans were upset when Diego left for West Ham in the summer.

“His contract was up and he turned down a new one to move into the Premier League.”

Poyet signed a four-year deal with West Ham and has already made two Premier League appearances, including starting against Manchester United.

“It would have been interesting to see how he had developed had he stayed at Charlton,” added Cawley.

“Now it will be interesting to see how he does back in the Championship.

“He’s certainly a good player and also a very grounded bloke who works hard at his job and conducts himself well.”

Poyet was an unused substitute for Town at Fulham, having only met up with the squad the evening before.

His loan runs through to December 6, taking in the games against Sheffield Wednesday (at home on Saturday week), Bolton Wanderers (away on Saturday, November 29) and Brentford (home on Saturday, December 6).