Mark Fotheringham reacts to big Kaine Kesler-Hayden news after Huddersfield Town exercise Aston Villa option | OneFootball

Huddersfield Town head coach Mark Fotheringham has praised Kaine Kesler-Hayden’s progression during his time at the John Smith’s Stadium, despite admitting that his return to Aston Villa at the midpoint of his loan was the best thing for all parties.

It was announced last night that Kesler-Hayden, 20, was returning to Aston Villa, with Huddersfield exercising their option to end the loan agreement during the January transfer window.

Ollie Turton is said to be closing in on a return from injury, whilst Huddersfield have bolstered their squad with experience and right-back depth after picking up Matt Lowton from Burnley on loan earlier this month.

Kesler-Hayden featured six times under Danny Schofield earlier in the season, but was limited to just nine minutes in Fotheringham’s first nine fixtures in-charge.

However, the young right-back featured seven times in the Championship between the win at QPR and defeat against Luton Town on New Year’s Day, as well as completing 90 minutes against Preston North End in the FA Cup defeat.

He scored in the 2-1 win over Preston in the league on Boxing Day and assisted in the 2-0 victory against Rotherham United three days later, impressing prior to the agreement to bring Lowton to the club.

“Kaine is a fantastic boy and has been great to have around the group. His performances in the past month have shown real progression, and that’s brilliant to see for a player of his age,” Fotheringham said, as quoted by Huddersfield’s official media.

“We are in a position where we need to strengthen other areas of our squad and utilise our options the best we can. We have a senior member of the squad in Ollie Turton nearing a return, so that allows us to focus on other positions within the team.

“I’ve really enjoyed working together and seeing a young player push to improve, but at this moment in time letting Kaine go back to Aston Villa and seek more regular minutes is the best thing for all concerned. I’d like to thank him for all of his effort and look forward to seeing how his career grows going forward.”

Lowton has now started back-to-back fixtures at right wing-back, with Kesler-Hayden not involved at all on Saturday as Huddersfield lost a late lead at Hull City to draw 1-1.

Fotheringham’s side sit 22nd in the Championship table and three points adrift of safety.

Quiz: Are these 20 Huddersfield Town facts real or fake?

1 of 20

1. The capacity of the John Smith's Stadium is over 27,000

Real Fake

The Verdict

Kesler-Hayden finally appeared to be finding his feet at Huddersfield under Fotheringham and was impressive over the month of December at right wing-back, so to some supporters it’s going to feel slightly strange that the decision has been made to send him back to Villa.

However, the Lowton agreement was probably lined up well before Kesler-Hayden finally showed his best, whilst Turton’s looming return does give Fotheringham more depth.

The budget is stretched and Huddersfield need to strengthen elsewhere in their squad. In an ideal world, they would probably retain Kesler-Hayden and strengthen elsewhere, but they are working against a tough off-field situation and decisions like this, unfortunately, have to be made.