Laurent Depoitre has been an excellent addition for Premier League newcomers Huddersfield Town, but he could have joined Scottish giants Celtic instead.
While the likes of Steve Mounie and Tom Ince are yet to justify their hefty price tags at Huddersfield Town, no one could claim that Laurent Depoitre has not proved to be excellent value for money.
A £3.5 million signing from FC Porto (BBC), the Belgian battering ram has scored five Premier League goals for the Terriers, including one in that infamous victory over Manchester United.
And Huddersfield have their former head of football operations David Moss to thank for one of the top flight’s most astute bargain buys of 2017/18. But if Moss had stayed at Scottish champions Celtic in his role as chief talent scout beyond the end of last season, perhaps Depoitre would be roughing up defenders in Scotland instead.
“Laurent Depoitre was another we’d tried for at Celtic. He’d made the wrong move by leaving Gent for Porto for £6m. He’s made for English or German football, so his value had gone down since to a bargain (fee),” Moss, who left Huddersfield in October after only five months, told The Guardian.
“Laurent’s another big lad, 6ft 4in, and not the prettiest on the eye in training, and (Huddersfield manager) David (Wagner) would come to me saying: ‘What have you bought here?’
“He was off the pace in training, but he comes alive on matchday. David took some convincing to play him against Leicester [in September] when Mounie was out, but he bullied Harry Maguire and was the best player on the pitch.”
Moss makes a good point. Depoitre is a real throwback of a number nine, a player adept at overpowering defenders rather than jinking past them. And he could have been a good fit at Celtic, most likely as an aggressive alternative to Moussa Dembele or Leigh Griffiths; an orthodox plan B.
Celtic’s loss, however, has been very much Huddersfield’s gain.
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