Alex Pritchard and Terence Kongolo are at the hub of Huddersfield Town’s preparations to tackle Stoke City.
The 24-year-old Pritchard and 23-year-old Kongolo are head coach David Wagner’s two January transfer window signings so far.
They have had limited time on the PPG Canalside training ground with their new colleagues, however, so this week is important to get them fully bedded in.
Both will be desperate to make their first Premier League starts in blue and white stripes at the bet365 Stadium, where Town are looking for a first win in six top-flight outings.
Kongolo, on loan from AS Monaco, started in the FA Cup third-round victory at Bolton Wanderers and went on for the final 19 minutes as a substitute in the 4-1 home defeat by West Ham United.
Pritchard was sent on for the final 25 minutes, just hours after completing his £10m move from Norwich City.
So had Wagner thought of starting with Pritchard against the Hammers?
“This was never in my mind,” admitted the head coach, who this week recalled Jack Payne from his loan at Oxford United and immediately sent him out again to Blackburn Rovers.
“I was unsure whether to take him in the squad (for the West Ham game) because he trained only the day before and, I think, he had only one training day with Norwich.
“Then he had the medical, so it was a very stressful week for him.
“But I decided to take him and it was important to get 30 minutes under his belt.
“I think he showed his technical quality to find gaps and to make good decisions.
“His set pieces are good, too, with quality, and we are happy to have him in our group.
“He will help us, like Terence Kongolo in future as well.
“Now, we have to work all together on the training pitch, like we have in the past.
“It is not very difficult to analyse what went wrong against West Ham, and we will all try to make it better.”
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