Ask a Huddersfield Town fan to name the player who has impressed them the most since the turn of the new year and their answer is likely to be Brodie Spencer.
After a disappointing start to the Championship season, struggling Huddersfield looked to exploit the transfer window in January, with new additions to bolster their bid for survival.
Over the month, the Terriers brought in four new incomings, with Alex Matos, Bojan Radulovic, Rhys Healey and Radinio Balker all moving to West Yorkshire. Despite this, their best piece of business in the window was the decision to recall 19-year-old Brodie Spencer, who has been nothing short of a revelation for Town since his return from a loan at Motherwell.
Terriers Background
A highly-rated defender who has been on the Terriers books for a handful of years, Spencer had been on the fringes of the squad at the start of the season. It was clear that despite his undoubted abilities, he was lacking the experience needed to make a first-team breakthrough. It was clear that the Club’s former Academy Player of the Year needed a loan.
Late on in the summer transfer window, ex-manager Neil Warnock and transfer guru Mark Cartwright made the choice to send the right-back out on loan to Scottish outfit Motherwell. Now, just a few months later, Huddersfield are already reaping the rewards of this decision.
Spell in Scotland
Arriving North of the border with a welcome opportunity at first-team football and a point to prove, the Northern Irish defender flourished under the tutelage of Motherwell boss Stuart Kettlewell. An ever-present at Fir Park for the next four months, Spencer made 18 outings in Scotland altogether, including a stellar display away at Celtic. He also won the Club’s Player of the Month award for October, an accolade indicative of his excellence for The Well.
https://twitter.com/motherwellfc/status/1719383728701792505?s=46
While the youngster was shining in Scotland, Huddersfield was enduring a miserable run of form under Darren Moore, amidst an injury crisis that had sidelined the club’s senior right-back, Ollie Turton. Cast this alongside the abysmal form of loanee Tom Edwards and it’s little wonder that the West Yorkshire outfit exercised their recall option on the 19-year-old just three days into the January transfer window.
The Comeback
An impressive return to the team against Manchester City in the FA Cup set the tone for the excellent run of form Spencer has since embarked on, with the right-back proving to be a key component of Jonny Worthington’s successful stint as caretaker manager. Since then, he has started all of André Breitenreiter’s first five games in the dugout, with a sixth likely to follow away at Rotherham United this weekend.
Despite only being back in West Yorkshire for a little over two months now, it’s hard to think of a time when Spencer wasn’t one of the first names on the Town team sheet. That is why there’s a growing excitement in the Huddersfield camp around him, a belief that he could be one of their best academy graduates in recent years. A confident display against Leeds United in the recent West Yorkshire derby has only reaffirmed this.
https://twitter.com/htafcedits/status/1764228517556789307?s=46
Going International
A rise in prominence at club level will only bring more opportunities for Spencer on the international stage, with the full-back sure to add to the five caps he’s already made for the Northern Ireland National Team.
Highly rated by international coach Michael O’Neill, Spencer is expected to be an included in the upcoming round of fixtures, with a squad announcement expected imminently.
At just 19, the youngster could be a key component of the Northern Irish camp for many years to come and is part of an exciting generation of young players vying to break into the senior team and guide the nation to their first major competition since EURO 2016.
With the vast amount of potential he possesses, it’s clear that Spencer has the chance to build on his early promise and embark on a fulfilling career for both club and country. But that’s a matter for the future. For now, the impetus is on development and progression, with a big two months ahead.
If he can maintain his impressive standard of form, he could go a long way in helping Town retain their Championship status. Such has been his influence since he returned to West Yorkshire.
