Huddersfield boss David Wagner kept too busy to consider transfer talk

Speculation abounds about potential incomings and outgoings at Town after the window opens on Sunday, but Wagner is only concerning himself with the priority agenda of a Roses double-header against Blackburn Rovers and Wigan Athletic respectively.

In the reverse fixtures, fourth-placed Town – who will be without midfield pivot Jonathan Hogg for tomorrow’s home game with Rovers and Monday’s trip to the DW Stadium, in all likelihood –picked up just a solitary point.

Wagner has a doubt tomorrow over left-back Tareiq Holmes-Dennis, but has a fully-fit Danny Ward available after illness that saw him miss the Boxing Day home victory over Nottingham Forest.

Wagner said: “To be honest, this period is so busy in terms of games that the transfer window is totally irrelevant for me at the moment. I hear names, but at the moment, I put it on the side as we have much more important things to be focused on and it is first Blackburn and Wigan only two days later.”

On squaring the ledger with Blackburn, fortunate to take a point in the reverse fixture at Ewood Park at the start of December, and Wigan, who triumphed in a televised game at the John Smith’s Stadium on November 28, Wagner added: “In the first part of the season, we got one point from the two games. We would like to make it better.

“But this is not motivation and we will not use this when I speak with the players. But we know it and it shows us that it makes no sense to look at the table because, of course, they are at the bottom of the league at the moment and we only got one point from the two games.

“This only shows how strong and competitive that this division is and how we have to make sure we are focused on ourselves to be successful.

“This is what the players did excellently in the first half and what they have to keep – and will keep – for sure because they know this could bring them success in the second half of the season.”

Winger Sean Scannell remains sidelined for Town.