Despite their struggles this season, Huddersfield Town have gained a reputation over the years for punching above their weight on a shoestring budget.
The Terriers made the Championship play-off final in both 2017 and 2022, with their entire squad just two years ago costing roughly £2.3m.
A large part of this success was the healthy relationship Huddersfield enjoyed with Chelsea during this time, securing loan deals for defenders Levi Colwill and Trevoh Chalobah.
But whilst they were able to nurture Premier League talents like Colwill and Chalobah, Huddersfield were also able to take on players permanently from the Blues, with midfielder Jon Russell arriving at the club in 2021.
Initially joining Huddersfield’s B team, Russell was quickly promoted to the first-team and played a crucial role as Huddersfield made it to the 2022 play-off final, finishing third and just six points off the automatic promotion places.
The Terriers lost to Nottingham Forest in the final, though, and manager Carlos Corberan left the club ahead of the 2022/23 season.
For Russell, he wouldn’t be able to replicate his form under Mark Fotheringham and he left for Barnsley in January 2023, but the impact he made during his time on the pitch in 2021/22 can’t be overstated and nearly took Huddersfield towards another unprecedented promotion.
Jonathan Russell burst onto the scene in the middle of Huddersfield Town play-off charge
Upon arriving at Huddersfield, Russell spent time with the B-team to develop his craft, having spent the previous year on loan at Accrington Stanley in League One, but the central midfielder was soon promoted to the first-team in West Yorkshire, with Corberan taking a shine to the youngster.
He started all of Huddersfield’s final 15 Championship games of the season, losing just twice in that time and helping the Terriers secure an unlikely play-off spot.
An all-action box-to-box midfielder, Russell also chipped in with a couple of important goals as Huddersfield finished third, becoming an integral part of his Spanish manager’s team.
Russell scored a 96th-minute winner against Cardiff City on just his third start of the season, whilst he also opened the scoring against fellow promotion rivals Luton Town.
He’d also play every minute of Huddersfield’s play-off semi-final against Luton, beating the Hatters 2-1 over two legs. But he was only afforded 33 minutes in the final, with Corberan opting for the experience of captain Jonathan Hogg to partner Lewis O’Brien in the centre of the park.
| Jon Russell 2021/22 Huddersfield Town stats, as per Transfermarkt | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Competition | Appearances | Goals | Assists |
| Championship | 17 | 2 | 0 |
| Championship Play-Offs | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| FA Cup | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Jonathan Russell suffered following Carlos Corberan’s Huddersfield Town departure
After Huddersfield’s defeat in the play-off final, the team underwent significant changes and slid down the standings.
Corberan departed before pre-season, and key players like O’Brien and wing-back Harry Toffolo moved to Nottingham Forest.
Russell struggled for playing time in the following season under Danny Schofield and later Mark Fotheringham before joining Barnsley in League One in January 2023.
Despite his move, Russell experienced another Wembley disappointment as Barnsley lost the League One play-off final to Sheffield Wednesday in dramatic fashion.
Now an integral part of Barnsley’s squad, Russell hopes for better luck at Wembley this time as the Tykes are in a strong position to secure a play-off spot.
In terms of his impact at Huddersfield though, Russell was one of the key contributiors to nearly getting the Terriers back to the Premier League, and his performances for at least a couple of months showed that they could’ve had a Premier League player on their hands – for whatever reason though, it’s just not worked out for the Cobham graduate.
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