Huddersfield Town broke even on 2017 flop thanks to Gary Rowett, Derby County factor | OneFootball

The winger had a tough time with the Terriers after signing for a large fee from Derby, before Stoke City came calling.

Huddersfield Town's promotion to the Premier League likely feels like a lifetime ago for the supporters who are now watching their team in League One.

The Terriers were the surprise package in the 2016/17 campaign, beating Reading in the play-off final on penalties to earn their place in the top flight for the first time in 45 years.

Their first season in the division proved to be a success, surviving against all odds following a fantastic draw away at Chelsea. David Wagner had enjoyed a tremendous time in Yorkshire and barely put a foot wrong but one of his first signings in the Premier League proved to be a poor one.

Tom Ince joined Huddersfield from Derby County for £10m – a deal that proved to be a false dawn for the winger.

Ince struggled greatly at Huddersfield

Having had great success in the Championship with the Rams, it seemed highly likely that Ince was going to move on in the summer of 2017 after his former side missed out on the play-offs.

He joined the Terriers with the hope of having a huge impact on the team and becoming an integral part of their survival. But, he instantly struggled and looked like a shadow of his former self.

Ince had scored 14 goals and picked up six assists in the second tier in the season prior, and this incredible form was what he was aiming to repeat in his first top-flight campaign for three years.

However, he started slowly, failing to find the back of the net in his first 18 appearances for the club. Wagner persisted with him, hoping that he would show a flicker of the spark that he had shown so often in black-and-white, but it never seemed to come.

He finally got off the mark for Huddersfield against Stoke City in his 19th game, scoring the opener in a 1-1 draw on Boxing Day.

It would take another four-and-a-half months for Ince to score once again, this time coming against his current side, Watford. He came off the bench with 30 minutes to go, winning the game in injury time to help the Terriers close in on safety, but it was clear that he was not cut out for the level.

Stoke offered Huddersfield a reprieve

The Yorkshire club knew that their second season in the Premier League was going to be even more difficult than their first, and bringing in more talent was necessary. However, they also needed to offload players that were struggling, including Ince.

Stoke, who had just been relegated to the Championship, were out to spend money in the summer transfer window, and under the guidance of Gary Rowett, they took an interest in the then 26-year-old.

Rowett had managed Ince at Derby and was looking to reunite with him for the 2018/19 campaign, and they managed to work a deal with Huddersfield - one that benefited the Terriers greatly.

The Potters tabled a £10m bid for the winger, with the fee rising to £12m through add-ons, allowing the Premier League side to earn back the money that they had lost originally when bringing Ince to the John Smith's Stadium.

Ince never got back to the same level that he had achieved at Derby and he struggled to consistently score goals at Stoke, similar to when he was with the Terriers.

Huddersfield were relegated at the end of the 2018/19 season but they will be thankful that they recouped all the fee for Ince after a torrid year that saw them drop back to the Championship with just 16 points.