Sports Poets Society

Biography DATE OF BIRTH 03/05/1993 HEIGHT 171 cm SIGNED 12/01/2018 COUNTRY England Alex Pritchard joined Huddersfield Town for an undisclosed fee in January 2018 from Norwich City putting pen to paper on a contract running until the summer of 2021, with a further year’s option in Town’s favour. Standing at 5’ 7” tall, Alex was born on 3 May 1993 in Essex. He spent time in the youth setup at West Ham United before joining Tottenham Hotspur’s Academy, going on to turn professional at White Hart Lane. His first taste of senior football came through a loan spell at Peterborough United in January 2013. Pritchard made six appearances for the Posh in the Sky Bet Championship before tearing ankle ligaments in a game against Leicester City, which ruled him out for the rest of the campaign. Alex recovered and subsequently joined League 1 side Swindon Town for the 2013/14 campaign. He excelled at the County Ground, netting eight goals in 41...

IN ON LOAN Montpellier HSC 18 Isaac Mbenza Midfielder Biography DATE OF BIRTH 08/03/1996 HEIGHT 187 cm SIGNED 09/08/2018 COUNTRY Belgium Huddersfield Town completed the loan signing of Belgium Under-21 international Isaac Mbenza from French Ligue 1 club Montpellier HSC on Thursday 9 August 2018. Isaac Mbenza was born on 8 March 1996 in Saint-Denis, Paris, France. Despite being born in France, he grew up in Belgium after moving there with his parents as a five-year-old. He would have also been eligible to represent the Democratic Republic of Congo internationally through his parentage. Isaac played for the youth teams of FC Brussels and KV Mechelen in Belgium but chose to return to France to begin his professional career with Valenciennes as a 16-year-old. He played for the Club’s B team in the fifth tier of French football during the 2013/14 and 2014/15 seasons, eventually breaking into the First Team du...

Biography DATE OF BIRTH 22/04/1992 HEIGHT 178cm SIGNED 01/07/2016 COUNTRY Congo DR Huddersfield Town completed the signing of striker Elias Kachunga on a season-long Standard Loan from Bundesliga side FC Ingolstadt 04 in June 2016 before agreeing a deal to sign the 25 year-old permanently in the summer of 2017. Standing at just under 5’ 10” tall, the pacey striker has previously been capped by Germany at Under-21 level but has Congolese heritage and could also play for the DRC internationally.  Elias started his career at Borussia Mönchengladbach, initially playing for the second team in the German fourth tier; the Regionalliga West.  He made his first strides into the Club’s First Team from 2010, making two substitute appearances in the Bundesliga that year.  However, Kachunga subsequently had three loan spells away from the Club to gain further senior experience.  His first came at 3. Liga side VfL Osnab...

DATE OF BIRTH: 11/06/1996 HEIGHT: 193 cm SIGNED: 01/07/2013 COUNTRY: Denmark A big presence in central midfield, 6’ 6” tall, Philip is competing for a position in the starting line-up in the Huddersfield Town line-up. The Danish teenager originally played for Esbjerg in his native land, but was scouted by Town and invited for a subsequently successful trial during the second half of the 2012/13 season. A left footed player who is capable of performing the defensive or attacking roles in the midfield engine room, his international clearance came through in the eve of the new 2013/14 Professional Development League season. The midfielder was a key figure in the Under-18s’ success last season which saw them lift two league trophies and also reach the quarter finals of the FA Youth Cup. The 19 year-old has been involved in the First Team this season which included coming on as a substitute in Town’s 2-1 win at Charlton.

DATE OF BIRTH: 07/08/1997 HEIGHT: 178 cm SIGNED: 20/06/2018 COUNTRY: Netherlands Juninho Bacuna become the third Dutch player in David Wagner’s First Team squad as he joined the Terriers from Dutch Eredivisie side FC Groningen for an undisclosed fee. Born on 7 August 1997, Bacuna came through the ranks at FC Groningen and had spent the entirety of his professional career to date with the Dutch side where he made 83 appearances. Having made his competitive debut at the age of just 17, he featured as a second-half substitute in the final of the KNVB Cup as FC Groningen secured a 2-0 win against PEC Zwolle; qualifying for the Europa League in the process. He was handed his first Europa League start the following season as a substitute in a 1-0 defeat to Czech side Slovan Liberec. The midfielder was all but an ever-present for FC Groningen last season missing out on just one game through suspension, chipping in with 3 goals and 5 assists across the campaig...

Biography DATE OF BIRTH 06/12/1988 HEIGHT 170 cm SIGNED 29/07/2013 COUNTRY England When Huddersfield Town heard Jonathan Hogg was looking for a move closer to his Middlesbrough-based family ahead of the 2013/14 season, the Club didn’t waste any time! The central midfielder put pen to paper on a three year contract in late July 2013, with the Club having an option on a further year’s extension. Since then Hogg has gone on to make 68 appearances for Town and scored his only goal for the Terriers in their 3-2 Capital One Cup win against Charlton in 2013. During his career Jonathan has played over 100 games in the top two flights of English football; 41 of which came for the Hornets last season as he was almost ever present as they reached the Championship Play-Off Final. He started his career at hometown club Middlesbrough before moving to Premier League Aston Villa as a youth team player. His first taste of senior football came thr...

Biography DATE OF BIRTH 31/07/1994 HEIGHT 182 cm SIGNED 08/03/2017 COUNTRY Switzerland Huddersfield Town triggered the clause to complete the permanent transfer of Florent Hadergjonaj from 2. Bundesliga side FC Ingolstadt 04 in March 2018. Florent started his career in the youth system at Swiss Super League side Young Boys of Bern, which is the Club where he turned professional. He made his senior debut in September 2013 and quickly established himself as a First Team regular, winning the Club’s ‘Player of the Year’ accolade in 2015. After 88 senior appearances for the Club – several of which came in European competition – Florent joined Bundesliga outfit FC Ingolstadt 04, which is also the former club of Town striker Elias Kachunga, for a reported £2 million on a four-year contract. He started 25 top flight games last season, scoring once and grabbing two assists; form which earned him a first senior cap for his country in an in...

Biography DATE OF BIRTH 29/04/1990 HEIGHT 189 cm SIGNED 01/07/2016 COUNTRY Germany Huddersfield Town completed the signing of TSV 1860 Munich captain Christopher Schindler for an undisclosed club record fee in late June 2016. The seven figure fee the Club paid for the 26 year-old eclipsed the amount paid for reigning Player of the Year Nahki Wells, who arrived from Bradford City in January 2014. A 6’ 2” tall centre back, Schindler had played exclusively for his hometown club since making his professional debut nearly seven years ago, captaining the side for the last two years. He arrived with over 200 career appearances under his belt, the majority of which have come in the 2. Liga. He put pen to paper on a three year contract, with the Club having the option to extend it for a further season. After playing for the Under-19 team for three seasons, Christopher – who earned four caps for Germany at Under-21 level – made his profess...

Biography DATE OF BIRTH 23/04/1990 HEIGHT 191cm SIGNED 07/07/2017 COUNTRY  Denmark Centre back Mathias ‘Zanka’ Jørgensen joined the Club from F.C. Copenhagen for an undisclosed fee on 7 July 2017. Born on 23 April 1990 in Copenhagen, Mathias starting playing football at Danish second tier club B.93, playing for the First Team at just 16 years old. After spending a week on trial at Arsenal, he moved to F.C. Copenhagen in 2007 and went on to establish himself in the top flight team, playing games in the UEFA Cup too. He earned his first Denmark cap in November 2008 in a friendly against Wales and was soon named captain of his club side, leading Copenhagen to three straight title wins between 2008 and 2011. In the summer of 2012, he joined Dutch side PSV Eindhoven on a free transfer. Although he won the Dutch Super Cup, his playing time was limited in Holland and he returned to his former club in June 2014. His return sparke...

DATE OF BIRTH: 16/04/1989 HEIGHT: 175 cm SIGNED: 01/07/2016 COUNTRY: Germany Huddersfield Town signed Chris Loewe from 2. Bundesliga side 1. FC Kaiserslautern as a free agent on 1 July 2016. Loewe, a 26 year-old left back, put pen to paper on a three year contact with the Terriers. Born on 16 April 1989 in Plauen, Germany, Chris started his career in the youth systems of 1. FC Wacker Plauen and then Chemnitzer FC, signing professional terms at the latter. He made his professional debut in November 2007, often playing on the left side of midfield for Chemnitzer. After 88 appearances and nine goals, he joined German giants Borussia Dortmund in 2011 on a four year contract. Chris made 11 appearances for Jürgen Klopp’s First Team and was part of the squad that won the 2011/12 Bundesliga title and the DFB-Pokal Cup; he also played in the Champions League. During his time at the Club, Loewe also worked under Town’s current Head Coach David Wagner in t...

DATE OF BIRTH: 14/02/1994 HEIGHT: 188 cm SIGNED: 08/06/2018 COUNTRY: Netherlands Huddersfield Town completed the signing of Netherlands international Terence Kongolo from Ligue 1 side AS Monaco FC for a club record fee. Terence was born on 14 February 1994 in Switzerland, but moved to the Netherlands at the age of four. Like his teammate Rajiv van La Parra, Kongolo came through the Feyenoord Academy. He turned professional with the Club, signing his first contract in June 2010. He represented the Netherlands from an early age and was part of the country’s Under-17 side that won the 2011 European Championships, scoring in the 5-2 final win over Germany. The young defender soon made his senior debut for the Rotterdam-based side, being brought on as a substitute under manager Ronald Koeman in a 3-0 win over Excelsior on 14 April 2012. He soon signed a contract extension before making his full debut in the early part of the following season against Heracles...

DATE OF BIRTH: 14/04/1992 HEIGHT: 186 cm SIGNED: 04/01/2013 COUNTRY: England Smith is a versatile defender who can play at right-back or at centre-back . Tommy is another product of the Manchester City youth system having joined them in the 2003/04 season after four years at Tranmere Rovers. Smith made excellent progress in the youth system at City, eventually playing in the Elite Development squad, but never managed to make an appearance for the First Team. The defender had trials at Oxford United in the summer of 2012 before joining Town, where he played the majority of the Under-21 games during his debut season. Smith made his league debut in November 2013 in Town’s 2-1 victory at Sheffield Wednesday. The defender took to the Championship superbly and went on to make 27 appearances for Town that season. In the following season the 6ft 1 defender became Town’s first choice right-back and went onto to make 41 league appearances.

DATE OF BIRTH: 01/02/1989 HEIGHT: 195cm SIGNED: 16/03/2018 COUNTRY: Denmark Jonas Lössl became a full-time Terrier after signing for the Club permanently from from 1. FSV Mainz 05 for an undisclosed fee. Jonas was born in Denmark on 1 February 1989. His last name, Lössl, comes from his German heritage, with his grandmother still living in the country. After beginning his footballing career at his hometown club, Kolding IF, he moved to the Academy of Danish Superliga side FC Midtjylland in 2004. He turned professional there, going on to make 137 appearances in the top flight of his native land whilst being capped by his country at all youth ages up to Under-21 level. Jonas moved to French Ligue 1 side Guingamp in 2014, where he played a further 82 games across two seasons. Those appearances included his European bow, playing for the French team in the Europa League on seven occasions. Lössl also made his senior debut for Denmark as a Guingamp player, feat...