MK Dons submit bid for wanted Harrogate Town star as Wrexham circle | OneFootball

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MK Dons have submitted a £375k bid for Harrogate Town's Luke Armstrong, according to Football Insider.

The bid is said to include add-ons on top of the fee, as well.

Football League World exclusively reported that the Yorkshire-based club set a £500k price tag for Armstrong, and that the Dons and newly promoted Wrexham AFC had both had bids rejected by Harrogate.

Carlisle United boss Paul Simpson also revealed, last week, that his side were interested in Armstrong, but that the asking price was "way out of their budget."

Why do Harrogate want £500k for Luke Armstrong?

Sources told Football League World that the number that was placed on the striker may have been an attempt to scare off other League Two clubs. But it doesn't seem to have stopped MK Dons.

The freshly-relegated side have had a good start to their first season back in League Two, winning four of their first five games and scoring 12 goals.

Most people might look at that and think 'they don't need a potent striker.' You may be right. But adding someone of Armstrong's ability to that group would be a lethal mixture for most fourth tier defences.

The 27-year-old has scored 28 goals over the last two seasons for Harrogate. He was purchased by the Sulphurites, for an undisclosed fee, back in 2021, from League Two rivals Salford, after an impressive loan spell with Hartlepool Town, in the National League.

Why Luke Armstrong could be the catalyst for MK Dons' promotion

As mentioned, the Dons have been quite potent in front of goal this season. This has mainly been thanks to Mohamed Eisa who has scored a third of his team's goals in the league, this year. He's also got an assist to go along with it.

He is a player who can drift wide, run at defenders, and score from ridiculous distances. Jonathan Leko has been his strike partner, so far, with the pair setting up at the top of a 3-5-2 for the Milton Keynes side.

But the signing of Armstrong would bring a whole new realm to their offense. He's a traditional penalty box striker; someone who's going to be there to put the ball away, in and around the box, all the time.

If you put someone like that up front with a player with the skills and ability of Eisa, there is very little chance you're going to be able to stop both of them.

Even if you focus on containing Eisa, his wildly accurate long-range shots will either end up being deflected or spilled; and guess who will be there? Luke Armstrong.

If the centre-backs sit off to try and box in Armstrong so that he can't get into the areas that he'd want to, then you're going to leave space for his 29-year-old partner in crime to pepper your keeper with wrist-stinging shots. Then, when you're almost out, they can hit you with the sucker punch of a fresh-legged Leko.

What a move this would be for MK.