The 2016-17 season of Sky Bet Championship was starkly different in terms of the outputs for two sides in the shapes of Derby County and Huddersfield Town. While the Rams failed to impose a serious challenge for bagging a playoff spot, the Terries got themselves promoted to the Premier League for the first time in their history and will have the privilege of plying their trade against the elite clubs of the country in the upcoming campaign.
Huddersfield Town have been quite busy in their recruitment endeavours, having already signed a quality striker in Laurent Depoitre from FC Porto and are attempting to lure Aaron Mooy to the Kirklees Stadium on a permanent basis after the Australian played a pivotal part in their promotion winning season. But then, the worry of losing their key players would also be a major cause of concern for David Wagner’s troops.
Apparently, latest reports have stated that Gary Rowett is keen to solidify his backline and is adamant to sign Huddersfield Town’s centre-back Michael Hefele, in order to ensure that his employees maraud in the right direction in the days to come.
Signed from Dynamo Dresdan last summer, Hefele emerged as one of the finest defenders from the English second division and instilled a lot of resilience and cohesiveness to Wagner’s tactical nous and thus, a raid from the former Birmingham City manager makes perfect sense.
The 26-year-old accumulated 40 appearances to his name in the Championship last term, whilst which he bagged three goals. Defensively speaking, he piled 0.6 tackles, 1.6 interceptions, 3.6 clearances and 0.2 blocks per game on an average and registered a passing accuracy of 76.1%.
Hefele is a typical strong central defender who excels aerially and dominates the opposition’s attack by bringing his physical strength into the equation. Besides, he is a calm and composed defender and would enhance the defensive armoury at the Pride Park Stadium, if the anticipated move actually materialises.
The German likes to play long balls, does not refrain from making quick decisions in the tight areas and has a tendency to bang goals as well which makes him an appealing prospect for any Championship side. Moreover, he has enjoyed success of the uplift with Huddersfield Town and with such an experience garnered, Derby County should thoroughly invest themselves into the idea of making Hefele put pen to the paper as soon as possible.
Statistics Credits: WhoScored.com
