Ryan Hardie scouting report as Wrexham striker arrives at Huddersfield Town

The former Plymouth striker becomes Town’s second deadline day centre-forward signing after arriving on loan for the rest of the campaign

Huddersfield Town have confirmed the loan signing of Wrexham forward Ryan Hardie for the rest of the 2025-26 campaign.

The 28-year-old striker returns to League One after spending the past two and a half seasons in the Championship with Plymouth and Wrexham.

A Rangers academy graduate, Hardie scored at a rate of close to a goal every three games for Plymouth as he helped them on their climb from League Two to the Championship during his six-year stay at Home Park.

He has, however, struggled for game time since making the move to ambitious Wrexham in the summer, and has been out with a knee injury since December.

That injury did not require surgery, but Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson said this weekend that Hardie is still ‘a couple of weeks off being fit’.

Hardie is Town’s second centre-forward arrival of transfer deadline day following the earlier capture of Bobby Wales on loan from Swansea City.

Head coach Liam Manning said in a club statement: “To sign a forward of Ryan’s calibre at this stage of the season is a huge boost, and his record at this level speaks for itself.

“Since arriving, adding a different type of profile to our options up front was always part of the conversation, and Ryan ticks a lot of those boxes for us.

“We’ll quickly get him up to speed, and I look forward to working more closely with him alongside our coaches over the next few months. Obviously a good goalscorer but more importantly a hard worker off the ball who is just as likely to create chances for others, his arrival rounds off a really positive transfer window for the club.”

Sporting director Chris Markham added: “Ryan is a player we’ve maintained interest in throughout this transfer window, so we’re really happy to have got the deal over the line today.

“A player whose ability and experience we believe will help us in chasing our ambitions this season, he adds something different to our forward line and has an excellent record at this level.

“Through a combination of transfer, injury and suspension, we knew that adding goals to the team was going to be important this month, and while Ryan is just shy of full match fitness at present, we don’t believe it will take him long to get back up to speed.

“We want him here to make a difference in March, April and May, not just in the immediacy, so we’ll work hard alongside him to get him up and running as soon as possible.”

Hardie said: “I’m delighted to get this move completed and can’t wait to get started. Everything I’ve heard about the club has been really impressive, and the conversations I’ve had with the head coach about how we want to play and what we want to achieve have been music to my ears.

“It’s a league I know well and have been successful in before, and that’s hopefully something I can help replicate here.

“The supporters have always been brilliant when I’ve played against Town, so I’m happy to be on the same side as them, and can hopefully give them a few reasons to cheer between now and the end of the season.”

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Ryan Hardie scouting report

Town have brought in Hardie to give Manning another option alongside fellow deadline day arrival Wales — but the two new signings are very different kinds of players.

Where Wales arrives as a Bojan Radulovic alternative, Hardie is an old-fashioned goalscoring centre-forward who does most of his best work inside the opposition penalty box. He likes to use his pace and wiry strength to make runs in behind defenders and can score from virtually any angle.

Hardie hit double figures in his last four full seasons with Plymouth, with the first two of those campaigns coming in League One and the latter two in the Championship.