Kevin Nagle may regret cryptic Birmingham City swipe if Huddersfield Town fail

Sometimes in football, the temptation for someone to speak their mind can often leave them with egg on their face later down the line.

For many clubs, the prospect of having a transparent chairman who does all they can to be open and honest with supporters regarding the day-to-day running of a club or prospective new recruits can be mouth-watering in their long-term ambitions of becoming successful once again.

For Huddersfield Town fans, this procedure has become the norm ever since American investor Kevin Nagle became the latest custodian of the West Yorkshire outfit in June 2023, with the 69-year-old so often vocal on X/Twitter regarding club matters.

However, the latest of his so-called ‘Video Diaries’ could come back to bite the Terriers if their aims are bettered by League One rivals.

Kevin Nagle takes cryptic swipe at Birmingham City after Alfie May deal

Huddersfield and Birmingham City boast a number of similarities on the pitch and in the boardroom, as Blues also possess a highly vocal and ambitious owner in Tom Wagner, who is also supported by the former NFL superstar, Tom Brady.

Before the transfer window even opened, on paper, many outsiders will have cast an eye on the squads at both Chris Davies and Michael Duff’s disposal and believed that both clubs would be eyeing an instant return to the Championship via the third tier’s automatic promotion places.

However, Birmingham’s transfer plans have been well documented through the reporting of a £20m budget at Davies’ disposal to build a “Championship-ready squad”, which now includes Duff’s former Cheltenham Town colleague and ex-Town target, Alfie May.

Taking to X/Twitter on Monday, Nagle seemingly referenced the deal which saw May move from Charlton Athletic to the Second City for a reported £775,000, with the American quick to reference the hijacking of a potential move to Huddersfield.

“I’ll say this much. The club that got him, they weren’t even thinking about him four days before that,” Nagle began.

“What I’m going to say is we’re not going to pay what that person got paid. There were a lot of rumours that went out on it, I’m not going to validate that, but it’s not fair to our players in the locker room.”

“He was paid an extraordinary amount, if you look to see what his history was, it just didn’t make (sense). Now maybe he’ll turn out to be great, and I hope he does, just not against Town,” he continued.

“I think what I’m impressed with is they’re kind of watching what we were doing.”

The American concluded: “They actually targeted at least one, maybe two other players that we did sign. I’ve been impressed by the fact that that club is looking at our recruitment team, and seeing what kind of moves we’re making.”

Huddersfield Town have made some impressive transfers themselves

Despite losing the battle to sign last season’s League One ‘Golden Boot’ winner with 23 goals, Huddersfield shouldn’t be too disheartened as they have also made great strides in the transfer business so far with the signings of Antony Evans, Herbie Kane, Lasse Sorensen and Mickel Miller – who are all top end League One standard acquisitions.

Given Nagle’s swipe at the West Midlands outfit, the acquisition of Evans from Bristol Rovers will no doubt give all connected with Town a greater satisfaction after a roll-reversal of the May saga, with Birmingham also interested alongside Championship side, Portsmouth.

These transfers, coupled with Duff’s previous pedigree at this level with Cheltenham and Barnsley, where he could count himself extremely unfortunate to have not guided the Tykes to a first-time promotion back in May 2023, make Town serious contenders in the promotion race alongside the likes of Birmingham, Bolton and Rotherham United.

Not that Nagle is hoping the aforementioned May proves to be a transfer flop at St Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park, but the tribalistic nature of football fans on social media means that these comments will no doubt resurface if the trajectory of both Birmingham and Huddersfield’s seasons pan out in differing fashions.

Both clubs will easily come under the microscope in the next 11 months given their stature, with Nagle and Duff having the weight of expectancy on their shoulders to make an instant return to the Championship, especially if more bodies can be added of a similar calibre.