Huddersfield Town man has been a real disappointment following high expectations: View | OneFootball

When Huddersfield Town announced the signing of the versatile Ben Wiles in the summer, it was seen as a great bit of business for the Terriers.

Wiles joined from fellow Championship side Rotherham United for an undisclosed fee, but as reported by Yorkshire Live, the fact that the Millers turned down bids from Burnley of over £2million the previous summer, it's safe to assume that Huddersfield paid a decent fee for the player.

As a young player with Championship experience and being versatile enough to play in a number of positions, Wiles seemed like the ideal sort of player to sign as Huddersfield looked to enjoy a more successful 2023/24 campaign.

However, that hasn't quite been the case and Wiles hasn't hit the heights many people expected him to at the John Smith's Stadium, and the Terriers are battling relegation yet again.

Ben Wiles' Huddersfield move has been a disappointment so far

So far this season, Wiles has made 24 appearances for the Terriers, and has played in a variety of positions.

He's played in the centre of midfield, as an attacking midfielder and as a winger, but hasn't really had much success in any of those positions.

Whilst being versatile can be a blessing as it makes you an attractive player for managers as they look to build a squad, it may have actually had a negative impact on Wiles this season as he hasn't been able to have a run of games in a certain position.

In his 24 games at Huddersfield, Wiles has failed to find the back of the net, and has registered just one assist, which came against Sheffield Wednesday at the start of February.

Whilst it is difficult to imagine Wiles being a free-scoring and creative option, it's fair to say that Huddersfield would have expected far more when they announced his signing, and will be wondering why Wiles hasn't reached his full potential.

Playing in a poor side clearly hasn't helped Wiles, but it didn't seem to have as much of an impact on his game last season at Rotherham.

There's clearly a talented player there and there's a reason why Burnley wanted to bring him to Turf Moor in the summer of 2022. He just hasn't quite shown what he's capable of so far at Huddersfield.

He's got nine games left to show what he can do and help the club escape the Championship bottom three.

With the club in the relegation zone, Huddersfield need to see the best of Wiles sharpish.

Relegation to League One would be a disaster for a club who were in the Premier League as recently as 2019, but it's so tight at the bottom that the club can still turn things around.

If ever there was a time for Wiles to show his class, it would be now with a fixture against his former club looming.

According to Fotmob, Wiles is only in the top 25% of Championship players in his position for two stats. Those are cross accuracy (33.3%) and successful dribbles (18).

It goes without saying that he needs to perform far better than that, given the money the club spent on him.

However, all may be forgiven if he finds a rich vein of form and can keep the club in the division.