Huddersfield Town head coach Carlos Corberan has hailed Tino Anjorin as one of the "most important young talents in Britain" after taking the Chelsea star on loan for the remainder of the season.
Anjorin spent the first half of the campaign on loan in Russia with Lokomotiv Moscow having been persuaded to join the club in the summer by then-head of football operations Ralf Rangnick.
However, the German's departure in November to take interim charge of Manchester United meant the £17million option Lokomotiv had agreed to sign Anjorin permanently was never going to be taken up and it was decided he should return to English football to continue his development.
As football.london exclusively revealed, Southampton sounded out Anjorin over a permanent move but that interest came too late in the window to get a deal over the line – the Saints are expected to return in the summer for the 20-year-old.
Several clubs in the Championship were keen to take Anjorin, who is in the late stage of his recovery from a broken metatarsal, from Chelsea for the rest of the season.
And it was Huddersfield – who were unsuccessful with a loan approach for Blues youngster Harvey Vale earlier this month – that won the race.
“I believe Tino is one of the most important young talents in Britain," Terriers head coach Carlos Corberan told the club's official website. “He is now in the last part of his recovery from injury, and we expect he can be integrated into our squad during February.
“As soon as he is fully recovered, he will increase the possibilities of our squad. He can play in different attacking positions – as a 10, 11 or 7 – and he has the skills to make a real impact in our attacking play.”
Huddersfield Town’s head of football operations Leigh Bromby added: “He’s a top, top talent and his arrival will be seen as a coup for this club across football given the understandable level of interest in him.
“I would like to thank Chelsea for trusting us with the development of one of their best young players, just as they did with Levi Colwill.
"I believe our track record at how we have looked after their footballers over several years rightly plays in our favour and makes today’s arrival possible.
“Tino looks like the ideal player for our squad. He’s a creative, attack-minded midfielder who can play through the middle or off the side. He’ll need a little time as he finishes his recovery from his injury, but we believe he’s well worth the wait.
“I’m excited to see what Tino can add to our already competitive squad.”
Promoted into the Chelsea first-team squad a little over a year ago by Frank Lampard, Anjorin spent the second half of the 2020/21 campaign working under Thomas Tuchel.
He is understood to have enjoyed a good relationship with the German coach, who was impressed by the academy graduate's work in training and professionalism.
But given the number of attacking players in Tuchel's squad, Anjorin's game time was limited – he made just one appearance under Tuchel and that came against Barnsley in the FA Cup.
