Scouting report: Leo Castledine joins Huddersfield Town on loan from Chelsea

The young midfield playmaker will spend the 2025/26 season at Accu Stadium

Huddersfield Town have announced Chelsea loanee Leo Castledine as their 12th signing of the summer transfer window.

The attacking midfielder, who turns 20 later this month, spent the first half of last season with then-fellow League One side Shrewsbury Town.

Castledine follows in the footsteps of Kasey Palmer, Trevoh Chalobah, Levi Colwill, Tino Anjorin and Alex Matos in joining the Terriers on loan from Chelsea.

The England youth international is now expected to compete with Marcus Harness, Ben Wiles, and possibly the likes of Joe Taylor and Alfie May for a place in the Town front line. He will wear the number 24 this season.

Town boss Lee Grant said in a club statement: “I’m delighted to welcome Leo to the Club and we thank Chelsea for helping us to conclude the deal smoothly and giving us the opportunity to develop one of their exciting young talents.

“A player with huge potential and someone who’s career I have followed closely, we’re all looking forward to working with Leo and helping him add to his game and contribute to the team this season. I’m aware of the history the club has had with loan arrivals from Chelsea, and we certainly hope Leo’s time with us will be a similar story of success.

“Leo’s hunger to develop and drive really stood out for me in our conversations and he now adds to the competition we have throughout the squad. With a long season ahead the entire squad will have a part to play. We’re excited to add Leo into the group and look forward to working with him.”

Castledine added: “I’m really excited about this opportunity and couldn’t be happier to have become a Huddersfield Town player. As soon as I heard about the interest I wanted to know more, and everything the manager has told me made me certain that this was the best club for my development.

“I know that I’m not the first player to join Huddersfield Town from Chelsea on loan, and the players came before me have all done brilliantly here and gone on to have amazing careers. I can only hope that I can have the same impact here and use this experience to become better, and I’ll work hard to make that the case.

“We have an exciting season ahead and I can’t wait to play in front of our supporters for the first time. This is a huge club with big ambitions, and that’s a challenge I want to take on.”

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More scouting reports: Ryan Ledson | Marcus Harness | Joe Low | Sean Roughan | Josh Feeney | Murray Wallace | Owen Goodman | Jack Whatmough | Lynden Gooch | Alfie May | Marcus McGuane

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Leo Castledine scouting report

Back in 2022, Chelsea youth boss Mark Robinson likened Castledine’s strengths to those of two other academy graduates: “In terms of energy, he is similar to Mason Mount and Conor Gallagher. I think he has more elements of Conor out of the two of them.

“He can be very dangerous when he arrives in the box, is really good in the air, and we have to make sure we keep working on that as well. He is definitely going to be a goal-scoring midfielder.”