Huddersfield Town reward goalkeeper Lee Nicholls for outstanding debut Championship season with new four-year contract

The Terriers have the option to extend Lee Nicholls' contract until 2027 if they wish.

Nicholls' fellow professionals voted him into the Professional Footballers' Association's team of the season for 2021-22, and he also made the division's official team. There is a strong case to say he was the signing of it too.

The now-29-year-old Merserysider joined last summer as a free agent on a two-year contract having spent the previous 12 months as second-choice goalkeeper at Milton Keynes Dons in League One, and ended the campaign sweeping the board at his club's end-of-season awards.

Although by no means alone, he was hugely instrumental from turning Huddersfield from having the second tier's leakiest defence to the seventh best, putting them into the Championship play-off final.

The Terriers conceded 71 goals in 2020-21, compared to 47 in the regular season that followed.

Only Bournemouth's Mark Travers kept more clean sheets, although in fairness, Sheffield United's Wes Foderingham equalled Nicholls' 18 clean sheets from 11 fewer games (32).

In addition to his skills, Huddersfield's head of football operations Leigh Bromby also paid tribute to the goalkeeper's mentality.

“He is the type of character that we want in our environment both on and off the field, and he became a key member of the dressing room in what was an extremely impressive first season," said Bromby.

“Having signed a two-year contract when he arrived, the length of this extension shows how mutual that happiness is and keeps a cornerstone member of our squad with us long-term.”

As well as Nicholls, Huddersfield also signed central defenders Tom Lees, Matty Pearson and Levi Colwill, plus full-back Ollie Turton last summer. All but Chelsea loanee Colwill - expected to join a Premier League club next season - were free transfers.

To tie Nicholls down to such a long contract is therefore a coup for Huddersfield and their coach, former goalkeeper Carlos Corberan.