Chelsea loanee Tino Anjorin at Huddersfield: How’s it gone so far? What issues does he face? What is next? | OneFootball

Fotheringham inherits a squad sitting 23rd in the Championship with a lot of work to do after a fairly disastrous start to the season under Danny Schofield.

One player Fotheringham will be leaning on to turn things around and provide a spark in the final third is Tino Anjorin.

Anjorin is back on loan with Huddersfield this season and is looking to have a greater impact on the side than he managed during the second-half of last season, despite Town reaching the play-off final under Carlos Corberan.

How’s it gone so far?

The 20-year-old has played eight times in the Championship and made a further appearance in the EFL Cup.

Anjorin has scored twice in the Championship, with both of those goals coming in the 2-2 draw against West Brom. There’s also been an assist in the EFL Cup, as Anjorin teed up Jordan Rhodes for a consolation against Preston North End in a 4-1 defeat.

As per Wyscout, he’s outperforming his xG (0.49) and his xA (0.23). Both those numbers do reflect how consistently Anjorin has managed to influence things in the final third, though, with a 65.5% pass success rate into the final third and only a 28.6% accuracy into the penalty area.

Additionally, there have been only three of his eight shots that have been on target (he’s not managed a shot in his last four games), a 33.3% dribble success and 20% crossing accuracy.

Frustratingly for Huddersfield, Anjorin’s nine appearances amount to only 512 minutes (Wyscout) at an average of 56.8 minutes per fixture.

What issues does he face?

The stats above outline how Anjorin could be more influential in the final third but it’s worth remembering he’s been playing in a struggling side.

Perhaps the main issue right now is how often Huddersfield have been able to get Anjorin on the field. He might’ve only missed out completely against Norwich City so far this season but he’s yet to put together 90 minutes as he builds up his fitness.

That’s something that’s denying him the opportunity to show what he can do in the final third and you suspect it is a regret of Schofield’s that he didn’t have a fully fit Anjorin to call on.

The last time Anjorin managed 90 minutes was for Chelsea’s U23s against Southampton on 12th April 2021.

Quiz: Have any of these 20 current or ex-Huddersfield Town players ever played for a German club?

1 of 20

TERENCE KONGOLO

YES NO

What is next?

A new head coach brings new opportunities but Anjorin has to get himself up to peak fitness. He needs to be able to offer Fotheringham a 90 minute option in the final third.

Fotheringham has spoken to the club’s media about how he wants his side to attack, saying: “I’m very much a guy that likes to play offensive football and I like to have creativity in the last third.”

Anjorin is certainly someone that can provide that creativity in the final third, he just needs to find some consistency. That will be helped by building up his fitness.