Luke Armstrong: Wrexham explore striker signing appeal

Wrexham are exploring whether to appeal the failed deadline day signing of Harrogate Town’s Luke Armstrong.

The Welsh club had agreed terms with their League Two rivals for the striker, but missed the 23:00 BST cut-off point as the transfer window closed on Friday.

Dragons boss Phil Parkinson described the situation as “frustrating”.

“A lot of work has gone in to identify Luke and to get him to the club,” he said.

“But for whatever reason that didn’t get over the line and we’re disappointed.

“A lot of work had gone into that signing in terms of looking at players across the board, putting offers in and working really hard to get a deal that was really suitable for Harrogate and us.

“Obviously it was held up because Harrogate wanted to get players in themselves.”

Armstrong, 27, scored 16 goals for Harrogate last season, and has a total of 31 in 106 appearances for the club.

Harrogate had announced on Friday night that Armstrong had joined Wrexham for an undisclosed fee, while the Welsh side said they had lodged paperwork, but were waiting for confirmation of the deal.

But in a statement issued on Saturday morning, Wrexham said: “The required documentation and clearance requests could not be completed in time and Armstrong’s registration has been rejected.”

Wrexham’s bid to sign Harrogate striker Luke Armstrong has fallen through because the deal was not completed before Friday’s transfer deadline.

Wrexham had agreed terms with League Two rivals Harrogate, but missed the 23:00 BST cut-off point as the transfer window closed on Friday.

As a result, Armstrong remains a Harrogate player.

The 27-year-old scored 16 goals for Harrogate last season, and has a total of 31 in 106 appearances for the club.

Harrogate had announced on Friday night that Armstrong had joined Wrexham for an undisclosed fee, while the Welsh side said they had lodged paperwork but were waiting for confirmation of the deal.

But in a statement issued on Saturday morning, Wrexham said: “The required documentation and clearance requests could not be completed in time and Armstrong’s registration has been rejected.

“The club would like to thank the player for choosing to join Wrexham earlier in the day and are disappointed that this cannot now happen (pending any appeal).”