Burton Albion have reached an agreement on Deadline Day for Wycombe Wanderers centre-back, Alex Hartridge. The defender has joined on an initial one-year contract.
Hartridge had featured twice for Wycombe this season, prior to this move to Burton. Two strong performances in either domestic competition has warranted a deal being struck by the Brewers. The versatile defender has finally moved away from an Exeter City move after years of being loaned out by the League One side. Wycombe purchased Hartridge in June 2024 and subsequently loaned him out to his former side once more last season.
Burton are sitting in 18th in League One currently and have added Hartridge to bolster their defensive options. The Brewers are gaining an asset who featured 148 times for Exeter City between 2020 and 2024. With stints at Bath City and Truro City prior to this, Hartridge will be getting a more permanent move than he would usually be used to.
Gary Bowyer had this to say on the 26-year-old’s signature ahead of an important campaign for Burton, as he looks to earn a starting place:
“Alex is a great signing for us, and we are delighted that we have been able to bring him to the club. A huge thank you to the owners for allowing us to get this deal done.
“He is a strong defender who gives us great options in our backline. We look forward to working with him.”
On this summer’s process surrounding Hartridge’s future, the centre-back told the Brewers what had occured prior to a move to Burton:
“All summer’s been a bit of an unknown on what the season’s gonna bring and the last few weeks where this has been in the pipeline, it’s nice to finally get it done.”
Writer’s View
The defender can finally settle down at a permanent side, following a tremendous nine loan spells – mostly during his early career with Truro and Bath. Having solidified himself as a great centre-back at Exeter, Wycombe took a punt on the 26-year-old but have now green-lit a move to Burton.
Burton desperately need defensive reinforcements as relegation candidates below them are starting to make waves on Deadline Day. It will be hugely important for the Brewers to stay in the division this season and this addition is a step in the right direction.
