Martin Drury has given the clearest signal yet that Huddersfield Town's squad could still change shape before the window shuts, saying he would expect the club to bring someone in if any of his current players were to leave.

"If people leave, then I'd want someone in," the head coach told BBC Radio Leeds ahead of the club's opening League One fixture against AFC Wimbledon. The comment, brief as it was, lands with some weight at a club whose supporters have spent much of pre-season trying to work out exactly what they have got.

A cautious start to the season

Huddersfield go into the new League One campaign having already attracted attention in the division. The Terriers are one of a small number of clubs that arrive in the third tier with recent Championship experience, and expectation levels at the John Smith's Stadium are not modest, whatever the official line might suggest.

Drury's comments on squad depth are worth noting in that context. He did not name any player who might be heading out of the door, and it would be unwise to read specific departures into a conditional statement. But the fact that he is flagging the possibility in a pre-match interview, rather than dismissing it, suggests the picture is not yet settled.

Whether the club acts in the market will depend, as it so often does at this level, on the finances. Huddersfield's accounts have been a talking point in recent seasons, and League One brings with it a tighter wage environment than the second tier. Any incomings tied to outgoings is a classic piece of third-tier arithmetic.

Wimbledon provide the first test

Before any of that is resolved, there is football to be played. AFC Wimbledon visit as Huddersfield's opening-day opponents, and they arrive with their own ambitions in the division. For Wimbledon, a trip to one of the bigger grounds in League One is a reasonable gauge of where they stand heading into the campaign.

Drury's preview was understandably cautious on specifics, as managers tend to be when the league programme is only just beginning and every injury update or tactical hint risks handing something to the opposition. What came through more clearly was the sense that the head coach views this as a squad still in flux, rather than one that has been nailed down through pre-season.

That is not unusual in early August. The transfer window remaining open means rosters across League One are still shifting, and Huddersfield are far from alone in having outstanding business to complete. What matters, at least in the short term, is whether the group available on the opening day is capable of picking up points while the background noise continues.

What supporters will be watching for

For Town fans, the Wimbledon game offers the first competitive evidence of what Drury's side actually looks like when the results count. Pre-season friendlies have their uses but tell you relatively little about how a team handles the pressure of a League One afternoon when three points are genuinely at stake.

The head coach's squad comment will have been noted. Supporters at this level know that "if people leave" can be a straightforward statement of transfer-window logic, or it can be a polite way of acknowledging that conversations are happening. Either way, Drury has set a reasonable benchmark for himself: movement out should mean movement in.

How the club responds to that principle, should it be tested, will say something about the ambition behind this League One campaign. For now, though, the focus turns to Wimbledon and an opening day that will at least begin to answer a few questions.

Frequently asked

When do Huddersfield Town play their first League One game?
Huddersfield Town's opening League One fixture is at home to AFC Wimbledon, with head coach Martin Drury previewing the match on BBC Radio Leeds on 14 August 2026.
Is Martin Drury signing new players for Huddersfield?
Drury has indicated he would want a replacement brought in if any players leave the club, suggesting Huddersfield's squad could still change before the transfer window closes.
What division are Huddersfield Town in this season?
Huddersfield Town are competing in League One, the third tier of English football, this season.