Peterborough manager Darren Ferguson has indicated that Reggae Boy Jonson Clarke-Harris will have to fight for his spot in the League One side, having declined a transfer to Charlton Athletic earlier this month.
Despite being the Golden Boot winner in the previous season, the 29-year-old striker had been expected to leave during the January transfer window. However, while Peterborough agreed to a £500,000 deal with Charlton, Clarke-Harris and the club could not reach an agreement on personal terms.
In the recent 2-1 victory over Shrewsbury, Clarke-Harris was notably absent from the squad and was asked to train separately, with 22-year-old summer signing Jacob Wakeling being favored instead. Manager Ferguson explained, “He’s (Clarke-Harris) fine, he’s just not in the squad. I have to be loyal to the ones that have been involved. I wanted to get young Jacob involved and back on the bench because he can’t play on Tuesday because he’s cup-tied. I’ll have to pick a squad accordingly.”
Club prepared for his potential departure
Clarke-Harris has started only one of Peterborough’s last 14 league matches as the club prepared for his potential departure. However, with the collapse of the Charlton deal, it appears he will stay at Peterborough until his contract expires in the summer, when he will leave as a free agent.
Ferguson noted that while Clarke-Harris remains eligible for selection, other players are now competing for places in the match-day squad, stating, “The Jonno transfer isn’t going to happen. He isn’t going anywhere. He’s part of the squad in terms of the whole group, but [Saturday] he just did a session to keep his fitness up. I can’t rule him out of selection, but I’ve got others I’ve got to think about – let’s put it that way.”
Despite the uncertainty surrounding his future, Clarke-Harris has continued to be productive this season, scoring 10 goals, with his most recent two coming against Barnsley on December 29. He had been placed on the transfer list at the end of the previous season after Peterborough failed to secure promotion to the Championship. However, a deadline day transfer to Bristol Rovers fell apart at the last minute.
