Huddersfield Town looking to repeat Jon Russell trick as three trialists line up in B team win

Huddersfield Town B team’s win over Brighouse Town contained three trialists on Saturday afternoon. The Young Terriers kicked off the club’s pre-season campaign with a 3-1 victory over the non-League side thanks to goals from Joel Mumbongo, Ben Jackson and Danny Grant.

But the name of Mumbongo may not be familiar to supporters of Town, as he was one of three trialists to take to the field in a youthful Terriers outfit. Connor Malley and Josh Mazfari were the names of the other two, with the former getting 90 minutes under his belt in the win.

Mumbongo is a 23-year-old striker recently released by Burnley, Connor Malley is a 22-year-old midfielder formerly of Middlesbrough and Mazfari is an 18-year-old goalkeeper currently of Thornaby FC. Despite the ages of the former two, all three players – should they do enough to impress and earn a deal at Canalside – will be signings for the B team.

Town will be looking to repeat last summer’s trick of midfielder Jon Russell, who joined the club on a free transfer from Chelsea. Russell had spent the previous season on loan at Accrington Stanley but arrived in West Yorkshire as a B team signing hoping to do enough to impress and force his way into Carlos Corberan’s side.

And that he did. By February, Russell started to establish himself as undroppable in Corberan’s midfield, playing every minute of every game from February 12 onwards – the 0-0 draw with Sheffield United. Town will be hoping they can replicate that success this summer, particularly given that they are still operating on one of the smallest budgets in the division.