Football League World
·29 November 2022
Football League World
·29 November 2022
Huddersfield Town are reportedly considering the signing of striker Florian Kamberi as they look to move away from the bottom of the Championship.
It has been an incredibly tough season for the Terriers so far, with the club sitting bottom of the table going into the World Cup break. The club lost out in the play-off final to Nottingham Forest last season, but Carlos Corberan resigned in the summer and a number of key players departed. Coach Danny Schofield was promoted to the top job to replace the Spaniard, but was sacked after just nine games in charge.
Former Hertha Berlin assistant Mark Fotheringham took charge in September in what is his first managerial job, but the 39-year-old has not yet been able to turn their fortunes around.
Fotheringham will be looking for reinforcements to strengthen his squad in January and according to Yorkshire Live, Town have taken Kamberi to their training camp in Marbella during the World Cup break.
The 27-year-old currently plays in his homeland of Switzerland with Winterthur, where he has scored one goal in 13 appearances this season.
He has previously played for the likes of Hibernian, Rangers and St Gallen and spent last campaign on loan at League One side Sheffield Wednesday, scoring five goals in 27 appearances.
The Owls chose not to attempt to bring him back to S6 permanently in the summer, but he could now be set to make a return to England with the Terriers.
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It is a little surprising to see that Town are interested in Kamberi, particularly given his relatively poor form for Winterthur.
Kamberi really struggled with Wednesday last term, not just through his lack of goals but often looked short of the quality needed for the level. His first touch was poor, he lacked pace and was not clinical enough in front of goal, while also seeming to find the physicality of the division tough.
On his day, Kamberi’s hold up play was good and nobody could question his commitment or attitude, always giving everything for the club. In a relegation battle, those are attributes that Huddersfield will need.
But Kamberi was overlooked by Darren Moore for the vast majority of the second half of last season and given the difficulties he found at third tier level, it is hard to see him being able to make the step up to the Championship.
It is clear to see why Huddersfield boss Mark Fotheringham is in the market for a striker. His side are the second lowest scorers in the division with just 19 goals, only Cardiff City have scored less.
The Scotsman has tightened up the Terriers’ defence but has not yet managed to find the balance in maintaining an attacking threat.
Danny Ward scored 14 goals for Town last season, but only has three to his name so far this term. The 31-year-old is not the only player to drop his individual standards after Corberan’s departure and is an embodiment of the decline at the club.
Jordan Rhodes has also found life hard since his return to the John Smith’s Stadium, with just four goals last season and four so far this campaign, with his best days looking behind him, so in this context Huddersfield’s need is evident.
Fotheringham has worked with Kamberi before during his time as assistant at German side Karlsruher and he will be hoping that the relationship between the pair can inspire the front man back to form.
But the truth is that Kamberi has never been a profilic goalscorer and is not good enough for the second tier.
Town would be better looking elsewhere for strikers, but perhaps a greater priority would be to address the creativity issues and try to provide the service for more proven goalscorers like Ward and Rhodes to thrive upon.