Barnet have announced the signing of 23-year-old central midfielder Anthony Hartigan on a season-long loan from League Two side Mansfield.
Who Is Hartigan?
Hartigan is a young, yet vastly experienced, central midfielder as he has made 118 appearances in League One in addition to a further 31 appearances in League Two. He made his senior debut at just 17 years of age which means he is entering into his seventh season in men’s football.
Hartigan definitely has a good pedigree as he has made over 30 appearances in League One for Wimbledon on two separate occasions and he won League One Apprentice Of The Year in 2018; his move to the Bees marks his first foray into non-league football after his career rather stagnated last season.
He joined Mansfield on a two-year deal last summer but his career at The Stags never really got going as he made just 19 appearances in League Two last season as he missed most of the second half of the season with a shoulder injury.
What Can He Bring To Barnet?
From what I have seen of him, Hartigan has been signed to compete with first-team captain Dale Gorman for a spot at the base of the midfield. He is a similar player to Gorman in the sense that he likes to pick the ball up deep in his own half before looking to spread the play. His passing range is impressive and he isn’t afraid of using bits of skill to get himself out of tight situations when he is being pressed.
One thing which Dean Brennan will look to work on with Hartigan is improving his output in terms of goals and assists. Despite having made almost 200 career appearances, Hartigan is still yet to hit double figures for career goals and this is not something that Brennan will tolerate as he wants goals from all areas of the pitch (he has set offensive right-back Reece Hall-Johnson a target of 15 goals this season). But, this Irishman has proven that he can get output out of players with the likes of Idris Kanu and Nicke Kabamba.
Given Gorman’s status as captain, Hartigan will have to work hard to even get a chance in the team. However, Barnet struggled without Gorman last year as they had to move Harry Pritchard into a more defensive role which stifled him offensively and Hartigan’s signing will only strengthen Dean Brennan’s squad.
