Luke Armstrong was on the verge of being signed by Wrexham on Deadline Day, but two weeks before the January transfer window was set to start, Carlisle United acquired the striker.
Luke Armstrong, a striker for Harrogate Town who was on the verge of joining Wrexham just over three months ago, has agreed to an agreement to join Carlisle United.
On Transfer Deadline Day, Armstrong, 27, was scheduled to sign for the team co-owned by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney for a record amount reportedly in the neighborhood of £500,000. The player’s departure was announced by League Two opponents Harrogate, but the transfer fell through because the necessary paperwork was not finished by the deadline of 11 p.m. on September 1.
After thinking about appealing to the EFL, Wrexham opted against it and issued an apology to the former Middlesbrough striker. Then, in an attempt to cover for injured striker Paul Mullin—who had ruptured his lung during a preseason friendly with Manchester United—Reynolds and McElhenney went all out to sign former Scotland international Steven Fletcher.
While it remains uncertain if Hollywood-owned Wrexham would have pursued Armstrong once more, the 27-year-old will not be joining Phil Parkinson’s team at the Racecourse Ground after Carlisle and Harrogate declared on Monday that a contract had been reached for him. Armstrong became the first high-profile addition under the new management of the club on Friday after completing his physical in Cumbria, according to Mirror Football.
Through their recently established business, Castle Sports Group, the Piatak family of Jacksonville, Florida, acquired the ailing League One team in November. In an effort to keep the Cumbrians from being relegated, they have committed to provide manager Paul Simpson with an expanded transfer budget. Over the summer, Carlisle showed interest in Armstrong, a player who Sulphurites boss Simon Weaver conceded would leave in January. Armstrong hasn’t played for Harrogate since October.
But he will soon be a Blue. A joint statement from the two teams said, “Luke Armstrong, Carlisle United, and Harrogate Town can each confirm they have all reached and completed an agreement for a permanent transfer on January 1, 2024.”
“Having already successfully completed his medical at Brunton Park, Luke will now leave Town with immediate effect to begin training with United, pending the opening of the transfer window and transfer of his registration.”
After 21 games, Carlisle is three points from safety and currently sits in 21st place in League One. After overseeing two promotions during his last spell, manager Simpson led the Brunton Park team to promotion through the play-offs in his first full season back at the club last term. Simpson is in severe need of funding.
Simpson, a former winger for Manchester City, said last month that “this group needs strengthening, and I think that’s blatantly obvious to everybody.” utterly and clearly evident. We want to be fishing in a different pond this summer as we were in a pond that catered to a specific income level last year. This needs to become better.”
