Forget David Wagner - Huddersfield Town should capitalise on Luton Town, Oxford United decisions | OneFootball

Rob Edwards and Des Buckingham should both be under consideration by Huddersfield Town as they search for a new permanent manager.

Huddersfield Town are on the hunt for a new permanent manager following the sacking of Michael Duff earlier this month.

Duff only took over at Huddersfield in the summer following their relegation from the Championship, and despite his side spending much of the season in and around the top six, he was dismissed following a run of four defeats in five games.

Academy manager Jon Worthington will remain in charge of the Terriers until the end of the season, and his second interim spell got off to the perfect start with an emphatic 5-1 win over Crawley Town at the John Smith's Stadium on Saturday.

The victory moved Town back into the play-off places, and with big games against promotion rivals including Charlton Athletic, Wycombe Wanderers, Stockport County and Leyton Orient to come over the next few weeks, their season is very much still alive.

However, while Huddersfield's full focus will be on securing promotion, owner Kevin Nagle will be assessing his options as he searches for his fifth permanent manager since his takeover last summer, and after three failed appointments in succession, there is pressure on him to get it right this time around.

Potential David Wagner reunion may be tempting for Huddersfield Town

One man who has been tipped as a potential contender for the Huddersfield vacancy is former manager David Wagner, who had a hugely successful spell at the John Smith's Stadium between November 2015 and January 2019.

Wagner was a relative unknown when he arrived in West Yorkshire, but he led the Terriers to a shock promotion to the Premier League in the 2016-17 season, which was achieved after a penalty shoot-out victory over Reading in the play-off final at Wembley.

Despite the club's financial limitations, Wagner managed to keep Town in the top flight in the 2017-18 campaign, which was arguably an even more impressive achievement than promotion, but the following year proved to be much more challenging, and the 53-year-old departed by mutual consent midway through the season with his side sitting bottom of the table.

After leaving Huddersfield, Wagner went on to have spells with Schalke in Germany and Young Boys in Switzerland before returning to English football when he took over at Norwich City in January 2023.

Wagner did an excellent job at Carrow Road as he led his side to a sixth-placed finish in the Championship last season, but it is fair to say that he failed to fully win over Canaries supporters, and he was somewhat harshly sacked after a 4-0 defeat at Leeds United in the play-off semi-finals in May.

While Wagner was perhaps underappreciated at Norwich, he is rightly regarded as one of the Terriers' greatest ever managers, so a reunion in the summer could be a tempting proposition for both parties, but Nagle should be cautious about turning back to the German.

Rob Edwards and Des Buckingham should be in Huddersfield Town frame

There is no doubt that Wagner would be more than capable of managing in League One, and if he can rebuild the connection with Huddersfield supporters that he had during his first spell in charge, then he could be the perfect choice.

However, re-appointing a former manager is always a risk, and with other strong candidates out there, such as Rob Edwards and Des Buckingham, the Terriers should look to start a fresh chapter.

After suffering relegation from the Premier League last season, Luton Town were widely expected to challenge for an immediate return to the top flight under Edwards, but it certainly did not work out that way, and he departed in January after a dismal first half of the campaign that left the club sitting just outside the relegation zone.

However, it was not long ago that Edwards was viewed as one of the most exciting up-and-coming managers in English football after leading the Hatters to promotion from the Championship via the play-offs, and he also has another promotion on his record having guided Forest Green Rovers to the League Two title in the 2021-22 season.

Given that Edwards' stock is currently low, second tier clubs will be reluctant to take a gamble on him, but that may open the door for Huddersfield to make a move, and he could prove to be a shrewd appointment.

After spells managing in New Zealand and India, Buckingham took over at boyhood club Oxford United in November 2023, and just over six months later, he led the club to promotion to the Championship for the first time in 25 years following a 2-0 win over Bolton Wanderers in the play-off final at Wembley.

However, despite the fact the U's had not been in the bottom three all season, the U's dismissed Buckingham in December, and the decision sparked outrage from supporters who were devastated by the 40-year-old's exit.

Buckingham won just 20 of his 59 games in charge of Oxford, which may create doubts in the minds of prospective future employers, but he still has plenty of room for development as a manager, and his experience of achieving promotion from League One would surely be appealing to Nagle, particularly if the Terriers are still in the third tier next season.

After so much managerial upheaval in the past few years, Nagle simply cannot afford to get this appointment wrong, but while Edwards and Buckingham would not guarantee success for Town, they should both be on the club's list of targets.