Huddersfield midfielder Juninho Bacuna believes January signing Karlan Grant could be the answer to his side’s goalscoring crisis.
The Terriers’ survival bid this season has been undermined by a chronic failure in front of goal and Grant showed why they paid Charlton a reported £2million by firing a double in the recent 4-3 defeat at West Ham.
“At the start of the season I think we struggled a lot to score goals, but since he came, six games, three goals, it says a lot about him,” said Bacuna, who also scored his first goal for Huddersfield against the Hammers.
“He just wants to help the team and – as a striker – he can help with goals and he’s doing well. Hopefully he’ll score more for us.”
Huddersfield let slip a two-goal lead at the London Stadium, but scored more than twice in one game for the first time this season.
Grant’s second goal was a stunning effort as he slipped defender Angelo Ogbonna and curled the ball into the top corner.
“He’s a good player, a young player,” Bacuna said. “He’s got ambition to help the team also.
“He suits the team, the way he’s playing is great and it helps us and hopefully he will help us this weekend too.”
Jan Siewert’s side will bid to extend their Premier League status for another week at least with a result on Saturday at Crystal Palace.
The Terriers, 16 points adrift of safety at the foot of the table with seven games to play, will be relegated if they lose and both Burnley and Southampton win.
Huddersfield would become only the second club to be relegated from the Premier League in March after Derby went down with 11 points in 2008.
“Me as a player – and I think I speak for everybody at the club – we’re just focused on our seven games,” Bacuna said.
“We go to the games with the mindset that we’re going to win the game, we’re going to take the three points. We’ve got seven games left and anything is possible.”
Bacuna has seized his chance under Siewert, having featured in only five league games under former boss David Wagner following his summer arrival from Dutch side Groningen.
The versatile 21-year-old was signed as a midfielder, but has also been deployed at right-back by Siewert.
“For me, I can play right-back no problem, but I want to play in one position,” Bacuna added.
“But if the coach needs me at right-back, centre-back, striker, it doesn’t matter what position, I will play for him and I will fight to the end.”
