Oldham Athletic have been beaten to the signing of young striker Josh Stones by fellow National League promotion-chasers York City, as per Pete O’Rourke.
The National League table-toppers are reportedly paying Wigan Athletic £350,000 to secure the 21-year-old’s services, making him one of the most expensive transfers into the fifth tier of all time.
A Fan-Favourite At Oldham
Stones has enjoyed two very successful short-term loan spells at Oldham over the last 13 months which has seen fans as well as manager Mickey Mellon eager to secure the strikers’ services permanently.
The Bradford-born man first joined Oldham in December 2023 and he scored three goals and got three assists in just four games before his loan was curtailed due to injury.
He returned to Boundary Park in November 2024 and picked up where he left off 11 months before, getting four goals and one assist before his loan expired at the start of January.
York City’s Project
York City have been the big spenders in the National League this season and they have used their budget much more effectively than last season, largely due to manager Adam Hinshelwood.
Hinshelwood, who gained his managerial reputation at Worthing, joined the Minstermen in February 2024 as they were in the midst of a relegation battle and managed to guide them to survival by a solitary point.
With a full summer to use his knowledge of non-league alongside York’s vast spending power, the 40-year-old has been able to build a high-quality squad which has accumulated 51 points from just 24 league games.
Their team currently boasts the top scorer in the National League, Ollie Pearce, alongside other big names, such as Dipo Akinyemi and David Ajiboye and Malachai Fagan-Walcott, and it seems destined to head to a higher level.
Writer’s View
The signing of Stones could have a monumental effect on the National League title race.
Oldham had been unbeaten for the best part of three months before they lost to Hartlepool United on New Year’s Day and they have dragged themselves into title contention after a relatively slow start to the season. Losing such a talented goalscoring option would have massively hurt them, but losing him to the team they were trying to chase at the top of the league is a heavy blow.
As for York, the signing of Stones is yet another sign of the ambition of the club’s owners and they are now spoilt for choice at the top end of the pitch. Dipo Akinyemi has already been pushed out wide by Hinshelwood so that he can acomodate both him and Ollie Pearce and Stones will give the former Brighton man yet another option at the top end of the pitch.
This extra choice should help the Minstermen to alleviate losses like the three-nil defeat at Altrincham where a rotated team came up well short.
Joining in 2023, Aryan specialises in predictions and National League content for The Real EFL.
