"Most frustrating player" - Claim made as West Brom and Bristol City eyed Huddersfield Town star | OneFootball

This article is part of Football League World’s ‘Terrace Talk‘ series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Huddersfield Town kept hold of midfielder Brahima Diarra last month despite transfer interest from elsewhere.

According to journalist Alan Nixon, the Terriers were willing to cash in on Diarra in January with his contract set to expire in the summer, and he claimed that Leicester City could make an offer for the 20-year-old, having previously been linked while they were in the Premier League.

The Foxes did not make a move for Diarra, but they were not the only Championship club credited with an interest, with Foot Mercato reporting that Bristol City and West Bromwich Albion were keen towards the end of the window, while an unnamed Ligue 1 side were also said to be keeping tabs on him.

Diarra joined Huddersfield from Athletic Club de Boulogne-Billancourt in July 2019, and after returning from a loan spell at Harrogate Town in the second half of the 2021-22 season, he has been involved in the first team.

The midfielder has provided one assist in 20 appearances in all competitions this season, but most of his minutes have come as a substitute.

Town are currently without a manager following the sacking of Darren Moore last week, but they gave their survival hopes a huge boost with a 4-0 home win over relegation rivals Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday, and they currently sit 21st in the table, three points clear of the drop zone.

Huddersfield Town fan pundit on Brahima Diarra future

FLW's Huddersfield Town fan pundit Graeme Rayner says that while Diarra is a player with a lot of potential, he has failed to perform consistently for the Terriers this season, and he believes the midfielder would not be a huge loss should he depart in the summer.

"Brahima Diarra, probably our most frustrating player this season I would say, and potentially last season," Graeme said.

"He has all the attributes to be an outstanding footballer, except he doesn't seem to know how to use them.

"His approach currently seems to be to get his head down and run with the ball, he gives the ball away an awful lot, but he has bags and bags of potential.

"I do feel for him though because he's a young lad and he's had several different managers asking him to play in several different ways, so if we bring in someone who is going to be a long-term prospect as a manager, it would be interesting to see, if they were an ambitious manager or maybe a bigger name, whether he might consider staying. "But it feels like his head has probably been turned by the possibility of a move, and he's a bit of a luxury player. "If you were a team towards the top of the table playing well, he's the sort of player that would do well for you, but if you're battling at the lower end of the table, he's not necessarily that guy. "So I don't know, I'm kind of ambivalent about it really. "It will be potentially one that got away, but then Etienne Camara left in the summer and has barely kicked a ball.

"He would be no great loss, but really great potential lost."

Huddersfield Town should not fear Brahima Diarra departure

It is difficult to disagree with Graeme that it would not be too much of a blow for Huddersfield if Diarra was to move on.

While Diarra is far from the only Terriers player to underperform in what has been a disappointing season for the club, he has struggled to nail down a regular place in the team in recent months, and he has failed to take his chance when given an opportunity.

If Town were to bring in a manager with a more progressive style of play, Diarra could thrive, but with the club currently fighting against relegation, Moore's successor is likely to take a more pragmatic approach.

It will be frustrating for the Terriers that they have not been able to get the best out of Diarra, but his exit in the summer would be the right move for both parties.