Putting the focus on those players who have had long and well-travelled careers in the game, but only made a brief stop off at Molineux.
This week, we feature a player who spent just a few months on loan with the Old Gold during Glenn Hoddle’s unremarkable Wolves reign – Tom Huddlestone.
Before Wolves
Having started out at hometown club Nottingham Forest, Huddlestone was released at the age of 12 and picked up by rivals Derby County, where he made his reserve team debut at just 15-years-old. The midfielder was voted man of the match on his first-team debut, which came on the opening day of the 2003/04 First Division season, as Derby fell to a 3-0 loss to Stoke City.
Although Derby struggled during his first full season as a senior player, Huddlestone proved to be one of the club’s few highlights, featuring in 43 of the Rams’ 46 second tier matches that season. He played a key role in Derby’s run to the play-offs during the 2004/05 campaign, which ultimately ended in the semi-finals to Preston North End.
Halfway through the subsequent campaign, Huddlestone discovered he would be promoted to the Premier League at the end of the season regardless of Derby’s results as he signed an agreement to join Tottenham Hotspur for a reported fee of £2.5 million.
Wolves career
Without making an appearance for Spurs during the opening three months of the 2005/06 season, 18-year-old Huddlestone made an initial one-month loan move to Molineux in October 2005 as he joined a Wolves side managed by Tottenham legend Hoddle.
Although his arrival didn’t mark an immediate upturn in results for the Old Gold, who had failed to win in 10 of their opening 15 league outings, from his second outing for the club saw the midfielder help Wolves to an unbeaten run of eight matches. Despite the run including five draws, Huddlestone played every minute of the club’s 2-0 win over Norwich City at Molineux and a 3-0 win on the road against former club Derby.
During the match at Pride Park, Wolves were a goal to the good through George Ndah before Huddlestone struck on 80 minutes to put his new team two up – and scoring his first professional goal in the process.
That was to be Huddlestone’s only goal in gold and black, but it was enough to see his loan extended until the January, where he went on to feature 13 times before retuning to Tottenham.
After Wolves
Two weeks later, Huddlestone made his Tottenham and Premier League debut as a substitute in Spurs’ 1-0 away defeat at Fulham on 31st January 2006 before another three top flight appearances followed. However, he made his breakthrough the subsequent season. After a full debut in the UEFA Cup win over Slavia Prague, his first Tottenham goal followed in November when he fired a brace in the last 16 of the League Cup. Finding themselves 1-0 down the Port Vale, Huddlestone levelled the scores on 80 minutes before putting Spurs 2-1 up in extra time and securing his team’s spot in the quarter-finals.
The following month, he found the net in the Premier League for the first time, scoring an excellent half-volley against Manchester City in a game where he had already provided an assist for the opener. His performances for Spurs as well as England under-21s had seen Huddlestone rise to be one of the most promising young midfielders in the country.
Having won the League Cup with Tottenham in 2008, he became a regular under Harry Redknapp, while also featuring four times over the course of three years for England after Fabio Capello gave him his debut in a 1-0 friendly loss to Brazil.
Shortly after scoring a goal for Tottenham against Arsenal in 2011, Huddlestone was challenged not to cut his hair until he scored again, to raise money for Cancer Research UK. It took him two-and-a-half years and 55 matches before he finally found the net again – as a knee injury saw him miss almost the entirety of the 2011/12 season – but it was for Hull City against Fulham on 28th December 2013. The midfielder raised more then £57,000 for the charity as a result.
With his performance level declining at Spurs, Huddlestone headed to Hull where he spent the subsequent four seasons. This included a spell as emergency goalkeeper, as well as a starring role in the team’s run to the FA Cup final in 2014, in which the team were beaten by Arsenal 3-2 in extra time.
Even following relegation from the Premier League the next season Huddlestone stuck with the team in the Championship as he helped the Tigers bounce back to the Premier League at the first time of asking, but just one year later, he was back at a former club, as he returned to Derby ahead of their 2017/18 campaign in the second tier.
The midfielder spent three years back at Pride Park before he made another return, this time back to Hull, where he signed a one-year contract, coincidentally making his second debut for the club against the Rams in a 1-0 defeat.
Having become a free agent in the summer of 2022, Huddlestone signed for Manchester United in a unique role of player-coach for the Red Devils’ under-21s as he uses his experience to help guide the next generation of United’s youth players.
This article originally featured in Wolves' official 2023/24 matchday programme. Last season's programmes are still available to purchase online through retailers Curtis Sports.
