DAVID WAGNER wants to make Aaron Mooy Huddersfield’s £12million record buy – as he is “the heart” of the team.
Terriers boss Wagner is planning talks with his Manchester City counterpart Pep Guardiola, and hopes to seal a deal that will see Aussie international midfielder Mooy move from the Etihad to the Premier League new boys.
Mooy, 26, enjoyed a hugely impressive season on loan at the John Smith’s Stadium, and played a key role in helping Town return to the top flight after an absence of 45 years.
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But Guardiola sees Mooy as no more than a squad player at City and is prepared to let him move across the Pennines for £10m down with a further £2m in add-ons if he helps keep Huddersfield up.
That suits Wagner, who enthused: “Aaron has been a consistently outstanding player for us, and I have said this before – he is the heart of our game.
“He is able to decelerate when necessary, or accelerate the game if you need it.
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“Aaron is so comfortable and calm on the ball, and has developed his fighting attitude since he arrived.
“He came here as a no 10 and, usually, no 10’s are not the best fighters. But now, since he played a little bit deeper, he has a great fighting attitude.
“You don’t often find a player who is so comfortable on the ball and has such a battling streak to go alongside it.”
Wagner, who has pledged his own future to the Yorkshire outfit by agreeing a new £2m-a-year contract, also wants to snap-up Mooy’s fellow loanees Danny Ward, Izzy Brown and Kasey Palmer on permanent deals.
Keeper Ward was outstanding after arriving last summer from Liverpool, while midfield pair Brown and Palmer shone following their arrival from Chelsea on temporary agreements.
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