Harrogate Town have confirmed via their official website that striker Luke Armstrong will be registered to their League Two squad following the collapse of his transfer to Wrexham.
The 27-year-old saw his deadline day move to Phil Parkinson’s side collapse as Wrexham failed to submit the deal sheet to complete the transfer before the close of the window at 11pm and it has now been confirmed that the Red Dragons are not going to appeal the decision to the EFL, allowing Armstrong to be registered back into Simon Weaver’s squad.
What’s Been Said?
There has been a lot of confusion during this saga, as many believed that Wrexham were putting a case towards the EFL to try and appeal their decision so that they could push through the arrival of Luke Armstrong, who would have been brought in to add to an attacking line-up which includes Ollie Palmer, Billy Waters, Sam Dalby and of course Paul Mullin, who is still recovering from injury.
However, this is now not the case, as Wrexham released this official statement;
“Having reviewed the additional information received from the EFL and considered this in the context of the submission of the documents for the transfer of Luke Armstrong from Harrogate Town, the Club have determined there is no reasonable chance of success if we were to appeal the EFL’s decision to reject the transfer.
“Now this decision has been made, we wish to apologise to Luke as we were unable to complete the transfer by the deadline and Harrogate Town, who we are sure will be as disappointed as we are that the transfer will not now be completed in this window.”
Following the announcement of this statement, this means that the player has to remain as a Harrogate Town player until at least the January transfer window officially opens on New Year’s Day in 2024.
Harrogate Town boss Simon Weaver also gave his thoughts on the situation, as Armstrong now prepares to be reintegrated into the Sulphurites squad.
“I think everybody involved in this potential transfer needed closure. We know now that we will have Luke Armstrong with us until January at least and that is a huge boost to us because Luke is a very good player.
“For both Luke and the club now it’s about moving forward.
“If you are to perform to the best of your ability then it’s important that you have that happiness. Beyond that, if Luke feels ready to return it’s a straightforward footballing decision for Paul Thirlwell and I.
“Of course, as manager, I have full allegiance to Harrogate Town but emotionally Luke has been through quite the rollercoaster in the last seven days.
“Both Luke and his partner were excited by something new happening in their life and a lot of energy went into that so we need to make sure that he is alright. If not, we have to do everything we can to make sure he will be in the future.”
Writers’ View
Of course, having a quality striker such as Luke Armstrong remain with Harrogate Town is a huge boost for the club, especially Simon Weaver, as he knows the attacker’s suitability to his squad and knows how to play to his strengths. However, the whole situation has not helped Harrogate, Armstrong or Wrexham – who you could argue are to blame as they knew what time the transfer window shut and knew that it would be a race against time to try and get the deal done.
What will be interesting to see is how the 27-year-old will be affected in his performances heading towards January, especially if his mind and heart were set on moving to Wrexham.
