Rhys Healey is on the verge of leaving Watford just six months after arriving at the club, with another Championship side “in advanced talks” to sign the striker.
Arriving from French Ligue 1 outfit Toulouse in the summer, The 29-year-old joined the Vicarage Road club on a free transfer, signing a two-year deal with an optional year extension. Transfermarkt currently values him at €1.5 million (£1.3m).
The Athletic’s Adam Leventhal reported that Championship strugglers Huddersfield Town are set to buy the striker, for a fee in the region of £2 million, with the move paving the way for The Hornets to sign a new replacement in this window.
It will be the third signing The Terriers make in January, with fellow forward Bojan Radulovic arriving from Finnish champions HJK before their FA Cup Third Round loss to Manchester City. Alex Matos has also joined the Yorkshire club on loan from Chelsea.
The Welsh international has struggled since arriving in Hertfordshire, only scoring twice and assisting once in thirteen appearances. Healey has not been in Valerien Ismael’s plans, only starting one game this season in their last match against Queens Park Rangers.
Arriving in the south of France in 2020, the striker featured heavily in Les Violets’ Ligue 2 campaigns in his first two years. He was the division’s top scorer as Toulouse were crowned champions of the second division but failed to make any further impact upon their promotion.
Healey has plenty of EFL experience, primarily in League One, making appearances for Cardiff City, Newport County, MK Dons and Colchester United. The striker has also made appearances in the Welsh and Scottish top flights for Connah’s Quay Nomads and Dundee FC respectively.
Huddersfield are in the middle of a relegation dogfight this season and will travel to Blackburn Rovers this weekend. It is unclear if the 29-year-old will feature at Ewood Park.
Writer’s View
Huddersfield Town owner Kevin Nagle has previously spoken about his desire to bring in several players this window in order to secure their Championship status. Whilst not a prolific striker during his time in English football, Rhys Healey has proved he can deliver during his time at Toulouse, where he scored 39 goals in 77 games. If Darren Moore can recapture that potential he showed in Occitania, the Yorkshire club could have a powerful strike force alongside Finnish top scorer Bojan Radulovic.
Valerien Ismael never seemed to use Healey to his full capacity. He only started once in their most recent game and occasionally made bench appearances, totalling 197 minutes of football for The Hornets. Healey’s imminent departure does leave Watford thin up front with only Vakoun Issouf Bayo, Mileta Rajovic and the as-yet-unused Jorge Cabezas as their striking options. The news that a replacement will come in this window should not be a surprise, and likely the club will look for someone who can push them forward to break into the play-off spots.
1st Class Honours in Multimedia Journalism at Salford University. Writing mainly about League Two.