Terriers Take Up Mbenza Option

Isaac Mbenza will remain a Huddersfield player next season as the club have taken up their option to make his loan move permanent.

The Belgium under-21 international joined the Terriers on a season-long loan from Ligue 1 club Montpellier last summer and despite being hampered with a hamstring injury for parts of the campaign, he has still been able to feature 21 times in the Premier League.

Indeed, the 23-year-old scored his first goal for the club during Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Manchester United at the John Smith’s Stadium and outgoing chairman Dean Hoyle confirmed, while addressing supporters, that the winger is now ‘our player’ and no longer on loan.

The terms of Mbenza’s permanent deal have yet to be disclosed, but Huddersfield boss Jan Siewert believes the Terriers have a real talent on their hands, although he knows they will also have to manage his injury concerns with a note of caution.

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“He is a great player but, obviously, he has had big problems during the season with his hamstring, for a long time,” Siewert was quoted as saying by the Huddersfield Examiner. “It is not easy because he is such a type of sprinter and we have to take care for him, but I think he is still young and we can really develop him and go forward with him.”