Scouting report: Bali Mumba arrives at Huddersfield Town in permanent move

The versatile Plymouth Argyle dynamo has made the move to Accu Stadium as the Terriers' third signing of the January transfer window

Huddersfield Town have completed the permanent signing of Plymouth Argyle wide man Bali Mumba on a three-and-a-half-year contract for an undisclosed fee. He will wear the number 19 shirt.

The 24-year-old Sunderland academy graduate has been a regular for the Pilgrims since joining from Norwich City on an initial loan in 2022 that was later made permanent.

Mumba was named as League One young player of the year and was included in the League One team in the season in 2022/23 after helping Plymouth gain promotion to the Championship.

Manager Lee Grant said in a club statement: “Bali is an exciting footballer who undoubtedly strengthens our squad for the second half of the season, and beyond.

“In our conversations to date he’s shown a real appetite to take on a new challenge and push himself to improve even further, sharing our ambitions and displaying a genuine desire to be a Huddersfield Town player.

“Blessed with natural pace, the confidence to take on his man and the adaptability to be equally effective in a number of positions, I’m excited to get working with Bali and see us benefit from his contributions as soon as possible.

“Having enjoyed the experience of succeeding at this level in the past and wanting to test himself beyond it again, Bali has the right mentality both on and off the pitch to help us in trying to achieve our shared goals.”

Mumba added: “I couldn’t be happier to be a Huddersfield Town player, and I’m really excited at the prospect of a new challenge and the chance to pull on the shirt for the first time.

“This is a massive club, especially at this level. Speaking to the manager, the ambitions here are huge and that’s a journey any player would want to be part of. The facilities and infrastructure across the stadium and training ground are first-class, which alongside playing and training with such a talented and experienced squad is only going to make me better.

“I’ve played against Town a number of times and know how amazing the support here is too, and I’m really looking forward to representing them and the club. It feels like the right move at the right time in my career, and I’m fully focused on making the most of it.”

Mumba is Town’s third new arrival of the January transfer window after goalkeeper Jak Alnwick from Cardiff City and midfielder Cameron Humphreys on loan from Ipswich Town.

Ben Wiles has meanwhile departed for MK Dons, while Owen Goodman, Leo Castledine and Zepiqueno Redmond have all had their loan spells brought to an end. Joe Taylor also looks set to be loaned out to Wigan Athletic.

---

Bali Mumba scouting report

Mumba is a versatile player who has been fielded in several positions while at Plymouth: as a full-back, wing-back and winger on both flanks, or even on occasion as a number 10.

Over the past few years, though, Mumba has most often been deployed as an inverting left wing-back with licence to cut inside onto his favoured right foot. He enjoyed a productive season there for Plymouth in 2022/23, when he claimed six goals and seven assists, helping Argyle earn automatic promotion as League One champions.

It is likely that Mumba’s versatility is part of his appeal to Town. After all, having a left-sided version of Swiss Army knife Lynden Gooch is no bad thing.

But we’re going to proceed on the assumption that Mumba has been signed with a view to slotting him into the left wing-back role in Grant’s current 3-5-2 set-up (roughly speaking — it has also been a 3-4-2-1 or a 3-4-3 over the past few weeks).

This would make sense given that Sean Roughan is expected to be out for four to six weeks, while Mickel Miller has already had two hamstring injuries this season to add to his long history of similar problems. (Miller has been preferred almost exclusively in more advanced roles in any case).

That has left Town with only Ruben Roosken as a clear-cut option at left wing-back. However, Grant has not seemed convinced by the Dutchman in recent weeks: Roughan, Gooch, Lasse Sorensen and Cameron Ashia have all been given starts in that position despite Roosken being fit and available for selection.

If Grant were to revert to a back four, we’d expect Mumba to play in a more advanced role similar to the one Miller has played this campaign and which Roosken was tried in at the start before that experiment was abandoned.

Town tried as much as possible to get players with a good injury record, and Mumba falls in line with that policy. He has missed just 11 league games for Plymouth over the past three and a half seasons combined, and is yet to miss a match this season (22 starts, three as a sub).

So what does Mumba offer that Roosken doesn’t, and can he make an impact on Town’s fortunes?