Speaking to Bristol Live, Bristol Rovers manager Ben Garner has said that the club is still hopeful of striker Jonson Clarke-Harris signing a new deal, with Charlton Athletic and Ipswich Town linked.
As covered here on The72, Bristol Rovers’ star striker Jonson Clarke-Harris has been linked with both Charlton Athletic and Ipswich Town.
Clarke-Harris’ impressive performances for Bristol Rovers have caught the attention of the aforementioned pair and now, the Gas boss Ben Garner has commented on the striker’s current situation.
Speaking to Bristol Live, Garner said that the club are still hopeful of Clarke-Harris putting pen to paper on a new contract, but said they will not be breaking their wage budget in order to do so. He said:
“We haven’t put a timeframe on things. It’s a case of assessing how we now move forward through pre-season. We’re having conversations, I think there is some common ground there in terms of what all parties want. It’s just a case of seeing if it works for everyone.
“He’s working hard in pre-season to get himself fit and sharp in time for the new season and that’s my focus.
“You never know in football, you don’t know what’s around the corner but Jonno knows how highly we think of him at the club. He’s had a wonderful career to date at Rovers and we’re hoping that continues into this season and beyond.
“We’ll see how we go through pre-season and into the season but I’m hopeful he wants to stay, we want him to stay and build on what he’s done so far at this club. There are discussions that have taken place and they will continue over the next few weeks. We need to see where that goes.
“We have a set structure in place as a club that we don’t break, that we don’t go beyond because that has been the downfall of this club in previous years.We’ve got a structure that we work to, but we’re hopeful of retaining our best players within that.”
In total, Clarke-Harris has netted 15 goals in 34 appearances across all competitions this season. His 2019/20 tally takes him to 26 goals in 51 games for the club, laying on three assists in the process. His form makes him one of League One’s most prolific strikers since signing for Bristol Rovers.
Bristol Rovers fans, do you think Clarke-Harris will sign a new deal? Let us know what you think in the poll at the bottom of the page.
In other Charlton Athletic news, the club’s Player of the Season has been linked with a number of Championship teams – find out more about that here.
