Barnsley evidence shows Huddersfield Town, Michael Duff are likely to lose key 2023/24 weapon: View | OneFootball

Huddersfield Town will be resigned to losing some of their key men this summer after relegation to League One in 2023/24.

The Terriers are facing a first season in the third tier since 2011/12 after they picked up just 45 points and finished 23rd in the Championship under three different bosses last season.

Andre Breitenreiter left his managerial post by mutual consent on May 10 after less than three months in the job, with Michael Duff hired three days later ahead of a huge summer.

Despite a poor season, Duff will inevitably have to be braced for second-tier offers for some of Town's key players, such as Jack Rudoni and Sorba Thomas who seem unlikely to want to play in the third tier.

Another player that could leave the John Smith's Stadium is Poland international centre-back Michal Helik, who has been one of their standout performers since his arrival from Barnsley in 2022.

The Tykes had been relegated to League One prior to his departure to the Terriers, and the 28-year-old's stock has only risen further since that move, so it seems very unlikely that he would want to play in the third-tier this time around too.

It will be tough for Huddersfield to keep hold of Helik

Helik's pedigree was clear to see while at Barnsley, where he was an instrumental part of the team that reached the play-offs in their 2020/21 Championship campaign and won their Player of the Year award for his exploits.

The following season did not go to plan for the Tykes and Helik, but his strong performances, despite relegation, were enough to convince Huddersfield to bring him to the John Smith's Stadium on a three-year deal, with the option of a further year extension.

It is pretty clear from that move that Helik believes his talents are best served in the second tier rather than League One, so after his bright showings in the Terriers' own relegation this past season, he could surely be on the move once more.

He will have ambitions at international level with Poland after being capped during his time at Barnsley in 2021 but a return to the international fold after three years away seems a lot more unlikely if he is playing in the third tier.

Huddersfield will undoubtedly be after a sizable fee if he does move on, but they could struggle with only the one initial year left on his existing deal.

Helik has been a standout performer

After joining on deadline day in 2022, Helik missed just four league games in his debut season and was a near ever-present as the Terriers survived relegation with a great end to the campaign under Neil Warnock.

He won Player of the Year in his first season for his towering displays but arguably improved in 2023/24 despite Town's relegation.

The Pole was the Terriers' highest scorer in the Championship with nine goals in 41 games and was one of the club’s most consistent performers in a miserable campaign - even being trusted with the captaincy on 13 different occasions in place of Jonathan Hogg.

He picked up another Player of the Year trophy in April to become only the fourth player in Town history to win back-to-back awards - it is quite clear just how important he has been to Huddersfield since his arrival.

With that said, it feels like a matter of time until second-tier offers start rolling in for Helik this summer, and if his departure from Barnsley is anything to go by, he will be welcoming those offers with open arms.