Niall Huggins - does he deserve a chance or should he move on?

Photo by Scott Heppell/PA Images via Getty Images

Niall Huggins signed a four-year deal under Lee Johnson, but would only play four times that season. He picked up an injury that would sideline him for the best part of two months and Dennis Cirkin would go on to play the majority of games in the left-back position for that League One promotion season.

In our first season back in the Championship, Niall would only play three league games, but it was the season after where we finally saw him string together some minutes and show the fans the potential

that the club had clearly seen in him. Cirkin would pick up a string of bad injuries, opening the door for Niall to get some playing time – he played 19 league games and made a good impression (you may remember his wonder goal in a 2-0 home win against Watford). He even earned himself an international call-up for Wales in late 2023.

However, his fortune would eventually turn again. That horrendous knee injury that required surgery ruled him out for 18 months and could have easily ended his career. Luckily, he bounced back and it has been great to see him back on the grass this pre-season.

Photo by Gualter Fatia/Getty Images

I do like Huggins. I was impressed with him during that run of games a couple of years ago and this pre-season he has not performed badly. I highly commend him for his resilience and commitment to battle back from his injuries.

He is only 24 and the club seem to like him (offering him a contract extension during an awful injury), but honestly, I can’t see him sticking around for much longer. Like a lot of the squad, he is not Premier League proven, but I cannot really see him making the step up.

If the club do decide to keep him, I hope I’m proven wrong and he surprises me and the rest of the fanbase who share my perspective.

Currently, he is needed due to injuries to Cirkin, Alese and Hjelde, but once they all recover, he could easily become fourth or fifth choice.

We seem to have a problem with our left-backs being quite injury-prone (Huggins included), so keeping him around the squad may not be the worst idea, especially due to his versatility and ability to play left- and right-back, but for his career and age, I think he needs to be playing regularly.

A move away from the club may be a good solution for him and the club and I wouldn’t be too upset either way. What do you think should happen?

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