Midfielder Departs 'The Yorkshire Club'
- Jacob Butterfield departs Huddersfield Town
- Midfielder signs for Derby County
- Chris Powell & Dean Hoyle comment on Jacob's departure
Huddersfield Town can confirm that Jacob Butterfield has today completed a transfer to Derby County.
Jacob Butterfield has today signed for Derby County for an undisclosed fee, that is only surpassed by the club record sale of Jordan Rhodes to Blackburn Rovers.
The Bradford-born midfielder joined 'The Yorkshire Club' in mid August 2014 at the same time as a deal with Middlesbrough that saw Adam Clayton move the other way.
The 2014/15 Player of the Year made his Huddersfield Town debut in the 3-1 away defeat at Cardiff City last season and went on to make 50 appearances for the club scoring 7 goals along the way.
Huddersfield Town Manager Chris Powell commented:
"We wanted to keep Jacob here and he played well in games since the interest came in but equally he made it very clear to me and the chairman that he wanted to leave
"In the short term the challenge as always is to replace him but that is part of football. The deal is good for us and in the long run and will let us make further additions to strengthen and improve. This Club and Dean has an excellent record of reinvesting like Butts after Clayton, we'll all work together to make that happen"
Huddersfield Town Chairman Dean Hoyle also commented:
"I said some time ago the player was not for sale and he was a key player for us. We all wanted to keep Jacob here but he made it very clear as soon as the very first bid came in a few weeks ago, he wanted to leave us there and then. He didn’t want to play for us anymore from then on with immediate effect.
"Equally, we made it crystal clear that for a transfer to happen, the deal had to be not just a good one but one we could not refuse.
"As the days have passed, we have rejected a series of further offers to try and retain Jacob at Huddersfield Town but with each bid the situation has become more and more difficult. Jacob has become totally unsettled by the speculation and more and more adamant in his demand to leave us.
"Finally, after another offer came in over the weekend we reluctantly reached an acceptable agreement on Monday. The timing is not what we wanted coming so late, but that was beyond our control. We knew it was a possibility a late offer could come in that was just too good to refuse. The price we have got not only reflects Jacob's value but the timing and the challenge of replacing him. Selling a key player is always challenging and can be unsettling for fans but it’s not the first time and it won’t be the last and it’s an important part of what we must do to succeed and progress.
"When we got Jacob in we really believed he would be an excellent addition to improve us and propel his career here, and so it has turned out just as when we brought him in to replace Adam Clayton"
"We are not going to be rushed into a hurried replacement, we have not done that before. It's important we get it right and that means we all must be patient to get the right man in, just as we have done in the past.
We all wish Jacob the best wishes.
