Posh may struggle to keep hold of striker
PETERBOROUGH United co-owner Darragh Macanthony admits he’s not confident of keeping Jonson Clarke-harris at the club this summer, but insists the club will not allow the striker to leave on the cheap.
Clarke-harris has netted 31 goals for Posh so far this season, a tally that sees him at the top of the League One goalscoring charts.
The 26-year-old’s latest strike, a stoppage-time equaliser in the stunning 3-3 draw with Lincoln City on Saturday, secured United’s place in the Championship next season, and his showings have unsurprisingly won plenty of admirers.
Swansea City and Cardiff City have both been credited with an interest in recent weeks, with both sides likely to be on the lookout for attacking reinforcements this summer.
However, given that neither club is expected to splash the cash in the forthcoming window, it’s not yet clear just how realistic a move to South Wales would be, particularly given the interest from elsewhere.
West Brom, Sheffield United, Rangers, and even CSKA Moscow have all also been mentioned as possible suitors in recent weeks.
Speaking after the club’s promotion back to the second tier, Macanthony admitted to Sky Sports that he’s not confident the striker will be at the Weston Homes Stadium for the start of next season.
“Peterborough United can never pay players £25/30,000 a week, there will be seven or eight clubs already offering Jonson Clarke-harris, (Siriki) Dembele, that kind of money.
“We’re not going to be selling a lot of our assets, but you always have one player that so many clubs are after, they’re going to tap them up, which is normal, par for the course, and it’s difficult to compete with that.”
However, Macanthony has seemingly insisted that the club are determined not to allow the 26-year old to leave on the cheap.
He continued: “He’s been fantastic, the best player in League One, the best goalscorer in England, and if we can keep him, brilliant, because he’ll be worth double by January in the Championship.
“I can’t wait to see £20m in transfer
sales instead of seven and eights. “As a club that’s what we need, we
want to build, we’re in good shape and we’re under no pressure to sell.
“It’s going to be a good summer, I’m really looking forward to it.”