Altrincham’s football director Rob Esteva has firmly outlined his stance on Peterborough United target Chris Conn-Clarke, stating that the club will not be lowering their asking price amidst the rumoured interest of several EFL sides.
Conn-Clarke was the standout man in the Altrincham side which made the National League play-offs last term. Although they’d lose to the eventual promotion winners, Bromley, plenty of positives can be taken from what was a rather incredible season for the club.
At the centre of that was the 22-year-old, who firmly put his name on the map. With 22 goals and a further six assists from midfield, Conn-Clarke established himself as one of the league’s best and he’s gaining plenty of attention from teams further up the pyramid.
After the season that he had, he rightly deserves a move and should also net Altrincham quite a notable fee if he is to be sold this summer. With interest from a whole host of EFL clubs, including Peterborough, he could well step-up two divisions and probably wouldn’t look out of place.
Posh would ultimately just miss out on promotion, finishing fourth prior to being knocked out of the play-offs by Oxford United in the semi-final. The Northern Irishman could take them to the next level and is certainly a player on the up.
With reported interest from both Wigan Athletic and Portsmouth as well, a bidding war could happen. However those bids need to first meet the Robins’ valuation of their star, something which is yet to materialise.
Rob Esteva, Altricham’s football director, was bullish on the club’s stance in an interview with Radio Alty, as per the Messenger Newspaper.
“Everyone knows it’s going to be difficult for us to keep Chris (Conn-Clarke) but it has to be right for the club as well as for him.
“We have received a couple of offers already, but they have been turned down. The reality is we won’t let him go if teams don’t meet our valuation, and the offers we have had so far don’t come close.
“It’s not crazy money we’re asking, it’s a realistic assessment of his worth, based on the benchmark of other players and the realisation that Chris has out-performed so many of them.
“It will be incredibly sad if he does go, but we always back ourselves, and I’m confident we will once more have one of the best attacks in the division next season, with or without Chris.”
Writer’s View
Peterborough should seriously be thinking about signing Conn-Clarke this summer as he could be the missing piece of the puzzle. Despite not really being proven in the EFL, the season that he has just enjoyed with Altrincham points to him becoming a star.
Although the asking price is yet to be revealed, it is expected to at the very least be six-figures which will net the Robins some healthy funds for the forthcoming season.
They may face competition from the likes of Wigan and Portsmouth, both who are ambitious, attractive clubs but Darren Ferguson and his recruitment team should be doing everything they possibly can to acquire Conn-Clarke’s services.
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