Rhys Healey scouting report as Huddersfield Town eye Watford striker
The centre-forward has been connected with a January move to the John Smith's Stadium
Watford striker Rhys Healey has been linked with a January transfer move to Huddersfield Town, with The Athletic’s Adam Leventhal writing that a fee worth up to £2m would be payable for his services.
The 29 year old Welsh centre-forward boasts an impressive goalscoring record and two promotions over the past five years playing in England and France, but may have slipped past many fans’ radars.
Here’s what you need to know — and you can find out more about fellow target Radinio Balker here.
Career to date
Healey started out in the Welsh league with Connah's Quay Nomads, where his electric form earned him a move to Cardiff City.
The striker struggled to make the grade there, going out on a series of loan moves before his final one, to MK Dons, turned into a permanent transfer after his 8 goals in 18 League Two outings helped them earn promotion in 2018/19.
His record the following season was even better despite the step up to League One, scoring 11 goals in 18 appearances in a foreshortened 2019/20 campaign and winning the club’s Players’ Player of the Year award.
That form caught the attention of then-second tier French side Toulouse, where the goals kept coming. Healey scored 35 goals in 65 appearances in his first two seasons, winning another promotion in his second season by helping the side top the table — winning the division’s botte d’or along the way. (That’s just golden boot, to you and me.)
Unfortunately, injury prevented Healey from showing what he could do in the top flight: he suffered a cruciate ligament tear just three games into the 2022/23 season. He made a dream return as an 87th-minute substitute on the final day of the campaign, scoring an injury time winner away to Monaco.
Healey was in demand as a free agent last summer but ultimately plumped for a move back to England with Watford, but he has been unable to get regular playing time in Valerien Ismael’s side despite making the most of what minute he has played, claiming two goals and an assist in his 205 minutes of Championship action.
Scouting
That leaves Healey with exactly a goal every other league game (58 in 116 appearances) over the past five years across League Two, League One, Ligue 2, Ligue 1 and the Championship.
In case that weren’t indication enough, Healey’s stats paint a picture of a clinical finisher. He has consistently outperformed his expected goals, suggesting he has scored the chances you would expect and more besides.
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