Huddersfield Town striker Laurent Depoitre believes life in the Premier League suits him after he was bought from FC Porto in the summer and was, at the time, the Terriers' record signing. Depoitre hasn't been the first choice frontman in David Wagner's starting lineups, however, the Belgian is now an integral part of the Terriers first team squad following a Steve Mounié injury.
Having started the last seven matches, Depoitre has scored two goals, including one in probably the biggest victory the Terriers have had to date, where they defeated Manchester United 2-1 - and it's fair to say that the Town no. 20 and Mounié will now be in constant competition for a starting place in the favoured 4-2-3-1 system. This can only be good news for the Terriers as they look to survive in their debut Premier League campaign.
FC Porto struggles
Moving from homeland club Gent to Porto in what was considered to be the Belgian's big break, but the forward had a poor season, making only 13 appearances across all competitions and scoring only two goals. It was a surprise move from Portugal to England, as it was rumoured that Anderlecht were interested in signing Depoitre. The Belgian stated in an interview with Le Grand Debrief "they were more rumours, plus I wanted to stay abroad rather than return to Belgium. That wasn’t my top priority."
It was clear that Depoitre didn't want to return to his home country and wanted to play somewhere else, so when the call came from Huddersfield, he appeared to jump at the chance. In the interview, he also stated: "After the difficult year I went through in Portugal, it’s true that playing in the Premier League, and it’s going really well, we’re getting good results, you can say it’s a kind of rebirth."
Competion and International Call Up
On the competition for places in the Terriers first team, the Belgian admitted that it will be hard for the top slot and that each player will be working hard to earn selection. With Steve Mounié having missed matches due to injury, but now back available, the place in the starting line up for the Terriers will be a fight. Something that Depoitre appears to be up for as a challenge
“It’s true that there’s a lot of competition [with Mounié], but each game I try and prove that I deserve a spot in the team, and, for now, that’s what I’m able to do."
Following on from his great form, Depoitre has earned an international call-up from and Belgium over the international break. He has impressed the coach since joining the Premier League and this will be the second International call-up for the forward, the last being back in 2015.
Life in the Premier League certainly seems to be suiting the Belgian.