Barnet FC have announced that centre-back Joe Grimwood, who made 18 appearances as the Bees won the National League last season, has left the club to join National League South side Chelmsford City, as per the club’s official website. The Clarets have announced that they paid a club record fee to sign the 23-year-old.
A Project That Has Been Cut Short
Grimwood was one of four players to join Barnet from part-time teams in the summer of 2024, alongside Joe Rye, Jermaine Francis and Finley Wilkinson, and those players were seen as “projects” by Bees manager Dean Brennan.
The robust defender had carved out a very successful career in non-league, winning promotion with AFC Sudbury and Braintree Town, for whom he featured in every single National League South game in the 2023/24 season.
These “project players” were not expected to come to North London and instantly become regular starters, but take a few months to get used to playing full-time football and perhaps break into the first-choice starting XI in the second half of the season.
Of the “project players”, Grimwood completed this task most successfully.
The centre-back played for the Bees during preseason before moving to Braintree Town just before the start of the National League campaign. He made seven appearances for the Iron, impressing in the early weeks of the season.
He was recalled by Brennan in September and went on to make 18 league appearances for the Bees as they finished the season on 102 points. His standout performance came in Barnet’s 3-1 victory over York City in what at the time was a crucial game in the title race.
On Grimwood’s departure, Brennan said:
“Both parties felt it was best to go in different directions.
“Joe leaves us as a Champion, and part of the first Barnet side to reach over 100 points.”
Writer’s View
This move comes as somewhat of a surprise as Grimwood was not one of those players listed as available for transfer by the Bees when they published their retained list. But it does make sense from both a player and club point of view.
A move to link up with Angelo Harrop, under whom he achieved so much success at Braintree, and still remain at a full-time club was too good to turn down, especially given his lack of minutes last season and the fact that the Bees were now in a higher division.
Given that Barnet have already signed Ollie Kensdale and Adam Senior this summer, Grimwood’s opportunities in black and amber would have likely remained limited next season. Getting a reasonable fee for the 23-year-old will be a welcome bonus for Brennan, who is already having to battle with much wealthier clubs in the transfer market.
