Ex-Man United and Preston North End man set for League One transfer after six months without a club

Former Preston North End midfielder Josh Harrop is set to end his spell out of the game by signing for Cheltenham Town, according to reports.

Harrop has been without a club since being released by Northampton Town last summer, but now his period of free agency looks set to come to an end. GloucestershireLive are reporting that Harrop will be offered a deal after training with Cheltenham over the last few weeks.

He could be in line to make his debut for the Robins either against Bolton Wanderers on Tuesday (January 23) or against Derby County on Saturday (January 27). Cheltenham are fighting for their lives at the bottom of the table and are four points adrift of safety. Former Bristol Rovers and Port Vale boss Darrell Clarke took over after the sacking of Wade Elliott and Harrop would be his first piece of business this month.

As for the ex-PNE midfielder, he'll be hoping to get his career back on track having not played much football since his departure from Deepdale. He played just two games for Northampton last season after joining them in December on a short-term contract, after having his contract at Preston terminated by mutual agreement in September.

Harrop was a North End player for six seasons and made a total of 95 appearances following a surprise move from Manchester United in 2017. He played in the Premier League for the Red Devils and scored on his Premier League debut against Crystal Palace. Despite being given his debut by 'The Special One', Jose Mourinho, he rejected their offer of a new deal and opted to test himself in the Championship.

He enjoyed a breakout campaign, playing 39 times, but injury saw him play just eight in the following season. In 2019/20, Harrop got himself back in the picture and played 36 matches under Alex Neil.

He would be loaned out to Ipswich Town in 2021 and the following campaign he joined Fleetwood Town for the second-half of the campaign. Harrop was transfer listed at the end of the season and then in September his contract was cancelled.