Leigh Bromby on Huddersfield Town's summer transfer focus and the chances of players leaving

Bromby has been lauded for overseeing some outstanding business in the 2021 close season, with some highly-successful strategic recruitment enabling Town to build a new look back-line who were one of the best in the Championship last term.

Lee Nicholls, Tom Lees, Levi Colwill and Matty Pearson were among several impressive captures.

Having built a strong defensive core, 'phase two' will see a focus on bringing in attack-minded players further up the pitch.

Speaking to Yorkshire Live, Bromby said: “I really really enjoyed last summer because I knew who we were signing, everything. I think we’ve got a base now of players that allows us to be successful.

“If you look at the project last summer, it was always a defensive model, it was being able to be competitive in this league by not conceding loads of goals, scoring from set pieces, and it was always then to progress this summer to can we add attacking players and a little bit more quality in the attacking areas.”

Town's excellent campaign which saw them reach the Championship play-off final and being edged out in agonising - and controversial - fashion to Nottingham Forest will lead to speculation that some of their leading players could be targeted this summer.

They include Lewis O'Brien, Sorba Thomas and Nicholls.

While Town are understandably keen to keep the side together, if the club are do sell any players, contingency plans will be made first regarding replacements.

Bromby continued: “It’s something we talk about a lot and scenario-plan as much as we can for losing a player – which I probably don’t have to name one that was (linked away) last summer – and making sure we know the replacements that are going to take us forward and make sure the impact of that player leaving is just not noticed.

“That’s a challenge that hopefully we have because that’s football. If some of our players go on and progress and get picked off by bigger clubs, it shows that we’re doing some good work.”

"The conversations between me and Dean (Hoyle) are always about the realities of a player leaving Huddersfield Town because they want to progress their career. That’s normal, and the more clubs are interested in our players, the better job we’re doing as a club and the better job the coaches are doing, so that’s something we actually want.

“When that player does leave and progresses to a bigger club or a better opportunity, we have to be better at replacing those players and make sure when we do replace we’re in a better position on the pitch and off the pitch."

Meanwhile, Town head of recruitment Josh Marsch has been named as the new head of football operations at Swansea City.

Marsh, 30, replaces outgoing sporting director Mark Allen..

He will assume responsibility for football operations and services and work closely with head coach Russell Martin and chief executive Julian Winter, a former CEO at Huddersfield.