The Terriers reached the Championship play-off final in both 2017 and 2022, and their complete squad cost over £2.3 million just two years ago.
Huddersfield’s positive relationship with Chelsea at the time, which resulted in loan agreements for defenders Levi Colwill and Trevoh Chalobah, contributed significantly to their success.
While they were able to develop Premier League prospects such as Colwill and Chalobah, Huddersfield were also able to sign players permanently from the Blues, with midfielder Jon Russell joining the club in 2021.
Russell began his career with Huddersfield’s B squad but was shortly promoted to the senior team, where he played an important role as Huddersfield advanced to the 2022 play-off final, finishing third and just six points from the automatic promotion positions.
The Terriers lost to Nottingham Forest in the final, and manager Carlos Corberan left the club before the 2022/23 season.
Russell was unable to reproduce his form under Mark Fotheringham and left for Barnsley in January 2023, but the impact he had on the pitch in 2021/22 cannot be understated, nearly propelling Huddersfield to another remarkable promotion.
Russell spent time with the B-team to hone his trade after spending the previous year on loan at Accrington Stanley in League One, but the central midfielder was quickly promoted to the first-team in West Yorkshire, with Corberan taking a like to the youngster.
He started all of Huddersfield’s final 15 Championship games of the season, losing only twice and helping the Terriers secure an unlikely playoff position.
Russell, an all-action box-to-box midfielder, scored a pair of vital goals as Huddersfield finished third, cementing his place in his Spanish manager’s club.
Russell scored a 96th-minute winner against Cardiff City in only his third start of the season, and he also opened the scoring against fellow promotion rivals Luton Town.
He also played every minute of Huddersfield’s play-off semi-final victory over Luton, which was won 2-1 over two legs. However, he only played 33 minutes in the final, as Corberan preferred captain Jonathan Hogg’s experience to partner Lewis O’Brien in the heart of the park.
Following Huddersfield’s defeat in the play-off final, the team fell apart as they dropped down the standings.
Corberan left the club before pre-season, while O’Brien and winger Harry Toffolo went for Nottingham Forest.
Russell struggled to get game time the following season, first under Danny Schofield and then Mark Fotheringham, and left for League One Barnsley in January 2023.
That summer, the Jamaican international experienced more Wembley heartbreak when his new team lost the League One play-off final to Sheffield Wednesday in the final minute of extra time.
Russell is a crucial component of Barnsley’s squad and will be looking for third time lucky at Wembley Stadium, where the Tykes are in pole position to qualify for the play-offs.
In terms of his impact at Huddersfield, Russell was a key contributor to nearly returning the Terriers to the Premier League, and his performances for at least a couple of months suggested that they could have had a Premier League player on their hands – for whatever reason, it hasn’t worked out for the Cobham graduate.
