THERE are few players who are more worthy of an overdue slice of good fortune on the EFL circuit than Huddersfield Town striker Bojan Radulovic.
Michael Duff’s assertion that the former Serbian Under-19 international has had a ‘difficult year’ is putting it mildly.
The fact that Radulovic was plunged head first into a relegation fight when he joined at the start of January from Finnish outfit HJK Helsinki – having signed while he was partway through a winter break in Scandinavia – suggested that things might not be straightforward with the benefit of hindsight.
It seldom is when you arrive at a team down among the dead men in mid-season.
In his first home start in early February, he got a crack in the face which left him decidedly groggy and he had to be substituted, while fitness and form issues exacerbated the Spanish-born forward’s early difficulties.
When the season ended and Town contemplated life in the third tier, there was talk that the club might cut their losses and elect to move on Radulovic.
His plight did not end there either. A groin injury suffered in pre-season left him behind the eight-ball in his quest to prove himself to Duff. To top things off, he was also having difficulty in settling in Huddersfield.
Many in Radulovic’s shoes would have pushed for a return to the continent – and the fact that he has got his head down instead is all power to him. Now, he needs a goal or two. If he does that shortly, then an uplifting story might just start to germinate. Everyone loves a good comeback story.
Radulovic said: “It was unfinished business for me and when I got the chance to come here, I wanted to prove myself in my second time here (in England).
“It wasn’t easy in every aspect of my life when I came in. I didn’t have much to do and it was a bit boring to be honest (where he resided).
“I have been living alone and with my girlfriend (sometimes). Sometimes, different friends came up here. My family are still in Spain. My mum would like to come here, but she’s afraid of flying, so she’s fighting with herself a bit.
“This season has been different. Ok, I got the injury, but now I am back on the pitch and strong and ready and I’ve moved to a different city. It’s much better. It’s not about in the first setback that you just want to give up. There was no chance to do that and it was ‘ok, I’m here, let’s do our best and get it to work.’”
The importance of life away from the pitch and a player being settled is something that is not lost upon Duff either. A more settled player surely makes for a more successful one, after all. Or certainly increases the chances of that transpiring.
Duff continued: “It’s silly little things. He was renting virtually an Airbnb from week to week as he didn’t know what’s going on (in the close season).
“The fact that the window has now closed and he’s now renting a place, (means) he’s settled. Now, he’s fit and every day, he is starting to look sharper and sharper and hopefully the player that the club signed.
“In the summer, I don’t know whether there was a bit of noise where he thought he was leaving or didn’t think he was leaving or whatever, but he missed a massive chunk of pre-season. We’re starting to get him fit and he gets injured again after scoring a hat-trick for the B team and then the window closes. But the beauty of that is ‘right, we need to work together’.”
The ‘unfinished business’ that Radulovic mentioned refers to his previous time in England at Brighton, who saw off competition from Spurs in early 2018 to sign the forward – recommended by then Belgium boss Roberto Martinez – from Spanish outfit Lleida.
Radulovic found it hard to settle and spent two loan spells back in Spain before joining Swedish outfit AIK.
As tough as it was, Radulovic remembers being appreciative of the support of one Albion legend in his time in Sussex, who is likely to be rooting for him in the blue and white of Huddersfield in his second chance in England.
Radulovic said: “When I went to Brighton as a young kid, I’d never been abroad. In that moment, it was really tough for me, not knowing zero English.
“I was completely lost and Bruno Salter was the one who was helping me a lot. He’s from Spain as well and played in Lleida, my city as well.
“He’s a legend there and for me it was ‘wow, Bruno was helping me’. It was like a dream because I never imagined him helping me.”
This post was originally published on here
