"Never really replaced him" - Ex-Huddersfield Town striker named as 2024/25 missing link | OneFootball

The Benin international didn't have the best of records at the Terriers, but would thrive in the current Town team

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…

With a season in League One to look forward to, there will be plenty of a Huddersfield Town persuasion reminiscing on the glories of yesteryear as they seem their team currently plying their trade in the third tier.

It was only six years ago that Terriers fans will have been seeing their side come up against the best that the country had to offer, with a two-year stint in the Premier League seeing plenty of memories being made.

That period will have seen some of the best talent to ever put on a blue and white shirt call the John Smith’s Stadium home, and there will be plenty in Yorkshire yearning for one or two of those stars in the current day.

With that in mind, we spoke to Football League World’s Town fan pundit Graeme Rayner about who would make the most difference as it stands, with the side looking to return to the Championship at the first time of asking.

Huddersfield Town would love to call on ex-striker to fire the goals to promotion

The Terriers have made a flying start to the 24/25 campaign under new boss Michael Duff, with their only defeat of the season so far coming last time out against Rotherham United, in a match where they finished with ten players on the pitch.

Frontman Danny Ward saw red that day, and his loss for the next three games will further emphasis his side’s lack of goalscoring options as it stands, with Duff relying on his midfield options to find the back of the net more often than not so far this season.

West Ham United loanee Callum Marshall’s solitary strike came in a 1-0 victory over Shrewsbury Town last month, while the likes of Ben Wiles, Josh Koroma and Antony Evans have all chipped in from further afield.

Despite Rhys Healey and Bojan Radulovic also offering an outlet up top, Rayner would be calling on one man from their past to do the business in the final third if he could call the shots.

The Terriers fan pundit said: “I’m going to go with a player still playing and it would actually be Steve Mounié.

“I think in our current system he is the sort of forward player we are missing; good in the air, strong, athletic, and would thrive off the sort of service we are able to give.

“He is exactly the sort of striker that we are lacking, and we have never really replaced him with a like-for-like physical type striker, and we didn’t service him well enough when he was here.”

During his time in Yorkshire, Mounié netted just 17 times in 89 league appearances, but was facing an uphill battle in finding the back of the net for a struggling town side in the Premier League at the time.

Since leaving England, he has been a prominent feature for French side Brest in Ligue 1, with his contributions helping them secure a third-placed finish in the top tier last season, before he made the move to German outfit Augsburg in the summer.

Although he has rarely hit double figures for goals in a single season throughout his career, his imposing nature would be too hot to handle for many a defender, allowing teammates to flourish as a result.

Aaron Mooy was the difference-maker during Huddersfield Town promotion campaign

While Mounie is still carving out a career in Europe, one name that will never be forgotten around the John Smith’s Stadium is Aaron Mooy, with the Australian underpinning everything that went right around the club during their recent rise to the top.

The former Melbourne City man was a fulcrum of creativity as Town secured their passageway to the Premier League through the playoffs in 2017, before proving himself to be a top operator as the Terriers held their own in the top flight.

With his tough-tackling, boundless energy and emphatic passing range, he was the sort of player who could do it all in the middle of the park, with that extra bit of bite making him a standout candidate for Rayner.

He continued: “If it was any player who has since retired, I would say Aaron Mooy, because he would fit into any eleven and he is the best player I have seen in a Town shirt.