Gerrard’s arrival reward for Grayson’s graft

SIMON Grayson has virtually completed his jigsaw ahead of Huddersfield Town’s return to the Championship.

The delighted Town manager has beaten off competition from Leicester City, Millwall and Bristol City to land Cardiff City central defender Anthony Gerrard for £350,00 on a three-year deal.

Gerrard, cousin of Liverpool and England captain Steven Gerrard, joined Cardiff from Walsall in 2009 and was player-of-the-season at the KC Stadium when he spent the 2010-11 campaign on loan at Hull City.

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The 26-year-old did not play for the Bluebirds after missing the vital penalty in their Carling Cup final defeat to Liverpool in February but is poised for an instant return as Town kick-off their Championship camapaign at Cardiff a week tomorrow.

Gerrard joins other summer recruits including Adam Clayton from Leeds, midfielder Oliver Norwood from Manchester United, defender Paul Dixon from Dundee United and winger Sean Scannell from Crystal Palace.

Grayson said: “We’ve worked very hard to seal his signature amid a lot of competition from other clubs.

“Just like the large majority of our summer signings he has plenty of Championship experience, but he is still a young player who has yet to reach his peak – exactly the type of player I want. He’s also a real leader and you can never have enough of those on the pitch. He has a real hunger to succeed too, as Cardiff has deemed him surplus to requirements. I think we have fantastic competition for places and depth now.”

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Barnsley striker Mido could be sidelined for up to three months due to injury and fellow new signing Toni Silva will also miss the start of the season.

Mido joined Barnsley earlier in the summer, but damaged his hamstring prior to the recent pre-season friendly against Doncaster Rovers. He is now facing a lengthy spell out of action, with forward Silva and goalkeeper Luke Steele also likely to sit out the Capital One Cup tie against Rochdale on Saturday.

Rotherham United will open their doors for a training session at the New York Stadium on Tuesday to give Millers fans chance to see Steve Evans’s side ahead of the big kick-off (gates open 11.30am).

Striker Jamie Reed (hamstring) will miss York City’s opening game of the season on Saturday, the Capital One Cup tie at Doncaster Rovers.