Derby County have been linked this week with a bid for their former midfielder Tom Huddlestone. The 30-year-old currently plays for Hull City and would be treading the same path as last season’s teammate Curtis Davies who signed for the Rams recently.
Midlands rivals Birmingham City are also interested in the former England international, a link easy to fathom given that Huddlestone worked with Blues boss Harry Redknapp while at Tottenham Hotspur between 2005 and 2013.
The Nottingham-born central midfield player made his debut for Derby back in 2002 when he was just 16 years of age and went on to make 88 league appearances for the club before his lucrative move to North London. Having fallen down the pecking order at an improving Spurs, Huddlestone signed for Hull City in the summer of 2013 and has so far played 135 league games for the Tigers.
Although not blessed with great pace, Huddlestone’s Premier League quality is not in question at all. The sale of Will Hughes to Watford means that reinforcement in this area is needed quickly and a player of Huddlestone’s ability is required should Derby wish to challenge for automatic promotion.
Tom Huddlestone started 23 games in the centre of midfield last season in the Premier League for Hull and during this time he picked up just 5 yellow cards, had a pass completion rate of over 81% and averaged a key pass every other game.
He excelled when sitting deeper in the defensive midfield position, making 1.1 tackles, 1.6 interceptions, 2.2 clearances and 0.4 blocks per game on average. Doing this meant taking a lot of the pressure off Hull’s centre-backs and his influence would be felt even more down in the Championship, especially playing for a club he knows so well.
Gary Rowett seems incredibly switched on and knows that experience is needed if Derby are to challenge for the title or at least for automatic promotion. Curtis Davies’ capture ahead of the likes of Grant Hanley was no accident and he, alongside Scott Carson, Marcus Olsson and potentially Tom Huddlestone will provide the knowhow required to edge out other promotion challengers.
Despite the lure of Harry Redknapp who comes with a big reputation, in the current climate, most players would choose Derby if they had a straight choice between the two clubs and so as long as they don’t delay a bid for too long, they should get their man.
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