What a difference in just 17 days.
Not have not only Huddersfield Town parted company with manager Mark Robins in that time, but they have recruited an exciting £2m-plus rated midfield trio who might just provide backbone for a Championship upsurge.
Jacob Butterfield’s arrival from Middlesbrough in a swap deal which took Adam Clayton up the A19 comes on the back of Conor Coady’s signing from Liverpool and Radi Majewski’s season-long loan from Nottingham Forest.
Just how they are utilised will be a question for the new manager, but caretaker boss Mark Lillis will have all three on the training ground together for the first time and desperate for a start in the new yellow third kit against Cardiff City in Wales on Saturday.
Bradford-born Butterfield’s skills were honed to such an extent at Barnsley that Norwich swooped to take him to the top flight, and he made 32 appearances for Boro last season when they finished 12th, eight points off the play-offs.
The 21-year-old Coady made his presence felt in Town’s 5-3 Capital One Cup win at Chesterfield on Tuesday night, when Butterfield watched from the dug-out before signing a four-year contract.
Lillis – who used a 4-4-2 formation – described Coady’s performance as “different class” and fans were impressed by the way he not only protected the back four but also broke forward to link up with the strikers (Jon Stead and Nahki Wells).
Majewski has the ability to unlock any Championship defence in a ‘floating role’ and, because he is at the John Smith’s for the season, Town can bank on including him in any winning formula.
“It’s great to be bringing in players of that quality,” added Lillis.
“We’ve got a lovely dressing room and we are going to need to utilise the whole squad – different players – going forward because it’s a long, hard season.”
While Clayton was Town’s Player of the Year last season, they have rightly cashed in before he could walk away on a free. Leeds United expect to take around £100,000 from their sell-on clause for the player.
Oliver Norwood and Jonathan Hogg remain in the mix for Town along with emerging products Duane Holmes, Jordan Sinnott, Matt Crooks, Phil Billing and Sondre Tronstad, while the wider berths and up front are covered by the likes of Danny Ward, Adam Hammill, cup scorer Joe Lolley and Sean Scannell. Keep an eye out, too, for Jake Charles as the season unfolds.
Striker James Vaughan (calf), midfielder Oscar Gobern (toe) and defender Anthony Gerrard (calf) remain under treatment as Lillis steps up preparations for the trip to Cardiff.
