"I don't think" - Derby County: Dion Charles theory dismissed amid Huddersfield Town struggle | OneFootball

Some at Derby may be glad they avoided Dion Charles, but it doesn’t make their own transfers any more successful

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 may be somewhat regretting their January move for former Bolton Wanderers striker Dion Charles.

He signed for the Terriers for a fee of £750,000, but is so far yet to score for his new side in 14 League One games, has picked up an injury and has already got on the wrong side of fans and bosses at Huddersfield.

Before the move, Football League World exclusively revealed that Derby County and Wrexham were also looking at the striker, a move they may both now be glad they opted to swerve.

We asked our Derby Fan Pundit, Shaun, whether he feels his club dodged a bullet not signing Charles.

Derby did no better than Huddersfield’s Charles deal

Speaking to Football League World, Shaun said: “I don't think we did dodge a bullet if I'm totally honest.

“Dion Charles was highly rated in League One. If he'd have come to the club, I don't think many of us would have moaned.

“I just think the fact that he’s had a terrible time at Huddersfield makes it look like he's a bad player, but some players don't suit certain clubs.

“We've signed Salvesen, he's hardly done much, has he? He’s scored one goal in his eight or nine appearances and got injured. So, his track record of injuries as well, was it a risk of signing him? I think it was, so it's no surprise that he did end up getting injured and he's out for the season.

“So, I think both those signings on paper looked poor ones.

“Maybe Charles could have come to Derby and scored six or seven goals that kept us up, but it's hard to tell.

“But, I don't think we dodged a bullet, I just think both signings appear to have been bad ones on the surface and, if anything, ours is worse because we've signed a player that’s had major injuries in the past, and he's gone and got another one.”

Both targets may still worry Derby fans

Charles has plenty of work to do to mend relations at Huddersfield after a poor start, compounded by his rather baffling decision to get in the away end with Bolton fans against Blackpool, just hours after his new side – and fellow play-off chasers – had lost 4-0 to Charlton Athletic.

He later apologised to his new boss, but it may take a few goals for Terriers fans to view him less suspiciously.

Shaun is right to address Lars-Jorgen Salvesen, who Derby signed instead on a two-and-a-half-year deal, and has himself only managed eight games and one goal before getting injured.

Rather than viewing Charles as a dodged bullet, looking through another lens, you could reasonably conclude that two of Derby’s top winter targets have turned out to be poor signings for their respective clubs.

Few would have expected Charles to struggle quite as he has, but having been linked so closely to two players, and signed one that has ultimately struggled in their first stretch at their new clubs, will leave the Rams’ recruitment team with more than a few questions for themselves.

The accountants at Derby may be happy with the Charles fee avoided, but other than that, there are few winners in this scenario.