EXCLUSIVE: Huddersfield Town expert issues ‘quality’ verdict on Aston Villa loanee

Aston Villa have a number of players out on loan in the EFL this season and one young Villa star in particular is already catching the eye.

Villa sent central defender Josh Feeney back to League One over the summer after a previous spell in the third tier with Shrewsbury Town.

After featuring for the Shrews in their relegation last term, the 20-year-old former Real Unión loanee is aiming to be at the other end of the division in the blue and white stripes of Huddersfield Town, now managed by former Sheffield Wednesday and Manchester United goalkeeper Lee Grant.

Feeney has made an impression at Accu Stadium and Huddersfield expert Steven Chicken, the founder of the immaculate We Are Terriers, has been keeping a keen eye on him for us.

“It’s been evident right from pre-season that Feeney has a bit of quality with the ball at his feet that is very uncommon among League One centre-backs, particularly his first touch. It’s easy to see why Villa picked him up from Fleetwood at such a young age,” Chicken exclusively tells AVF.

“If you had no prior knowledge of him then I don’t think you’d particularly notice that he’s only 20. He’s been defensively solid, with the odd little positional blip, and has been unfazed by the infamous Big Hairy Centre-Forward you still get a lot of at this level, and it’s evident that he got a lot of minutes under his belt at this level with Shrewsbury last season.

‘A different challenge’

“By all accounts he was a good player in a bad team there, but he faces a bit of a different challenge at Huddersfield, who expect to be right up there in the automatic promotion picture this season after a hugely disappointing collapse last term.”

The Terriers have started pretty well for a team that undertook such a massive overhaul in the summer transfer window.

They’ve won five of their seven League One fixtures so far and are the top scorers in the division. They’re one point ahead of Bradford City, who they visit on Saturday for the first time in 19 years.

Feeney has played his part but has by no means pinned down a place. I’ve seen him a couple of times this season and he looks like a player with good pedigree. Being a regular starter in League One isn’t always about class alone.

“Feeney got a four-game run in the side last month and was particularly impressive as Town knocked Championship side Leicester City out of the Carabao Cup,” adds Chicken.

“Lee Grant has brought in essentially an entire new batch of centre-backs and has been particularly heavy with his rotation policy in defence, where they now have a number of very good options.

“Joe Low was one of the best defenders in the division last season, while Jack Whatmough and Murray Wallace are both very experienced players who joined from Championship clubs.

Villa’s Huddersfield loanees will be carefully managed

“To say Feeney lost his place is thus not particularly a reflection on his performances or ability; Grant has been quite open about the fact that he wants to get minutes into everybody at this stage of the season, and has been particularly careful about not overloading his various young loanees.”

It’s worth noting that League One teams only name a bench of seven players and that Grant, who developed as a coach at Ipswich Town and is now showing off his teeth in the main job for the first time, has recruited more senior defenders specifically to fit a tactical approach at the back that requires some of his matchday depth to be more left-sided.

“Whatmough has just been ruled out for the next few weeks and nobody would bat an eyelid if Feeney were to come straight back into the side.

“There has actually been a bit of a debate as to which of the two of them should end up in the first XI once the side settles down, with Whatmough having a bit more defensive nous but Feeney more comfortable on the ball – and Huddersfield do like to play out from the back.”

Grant has two Villa loanees at his disposal. New Villa signing Zépiqueno Redmond joined Huddersfield on transfer deadline day but has yet to make his debut for the West Yorkshire club.

The post EXCLUSIVE: Huddersfield Town expert issues ‘quality’ verdict on Aston Villa loanee appeared first on AVillaFan.com – Aston Villa Fan Site.