League One outfit Burton Albion have announced their latest signing of the window with the arrival of Kyle Hudlin on a half-season loan.
The striker joins from Championship side Huddersfield Town, playing nine matches in the second division, but failed to convert any of his attempts into goals. His only goal for the Terriers this year came in a 3-2 loss at home to Middlesbrough in the EFL Cup.
Standing at 6’9″, the English target man becomes the Brewers’ fifth signing of the January transfer window as part of their attacking rebuild. Martin Paterson’s men have signed four forwards this window, having also sealed the signings of Manchester United’s Joe Hugill, MK Dons‘ Jonathan Leko and Crystal Palace’s Ademola Ola-Adebomi.
It will be the 23-year-old’s first spell in League One, having also previously featured for AFC Wimbledon last season. He scored four goals in 18 appearances at Plough Lane, all coming in EFL Trophy matches.
Speaking to club media at the Pirelli Stadium, Hudlin was excited to get the latest chapter of his career started. He said: “It feels amazing and it’s good to get it over the line and I’m ready to kick on now and get going.
“I spoke to the gaffer on the phone yesterday and he really sold it to me. He understood me as a player which was very important. He has a direct philosophy that he’s trying to instil and he felt that I met the criteria and ultimately I don’t want to disappoint him and get going from there.”
Burton have struggled to kick on in the early stages of the League One season, finding themselves in 17th position. They are only five points off the drop zone ahead of this weekend’s games when The Brewers play Lincoln City at home.
Writer’s View
Martin Paterson has focused heavily on rebuilding his attacking options this window, with Burton Albion only scoring 25 goals in the league so far this season. Bringing four new faces through the door will certainly give him more depth to pick from going into future matches, but there will need to be some time to click between these new players and the existing squad. Joe Hugill has already provided a goal and assist since arriving, and Brewers fans should hope that the rest can follow suit.
Kyle Hudlin offers a brand new aerial dimension to the Burton attack going forward. Any 6’9″ player will cause all sorts of problems for opposition defenders to deal with, especially on set pieces. If the 23-year-old can pin down his accuracy towards the goal, he should be nigh on unstoppable in the air. It could pay off to be a really good signing for the Staffordshire club.
