Cal Roberts has joined Scottish Premiership side Aberdeen for an undisclosed fee.
The attacker has been an influential figure since his arrival from Blyth Spartans in January 2020 and was expected to play a big role once again in 2022-23.
However, Aberdeen were able to meet our valuation of Roberts over the weekend and, following discussions with the player, their offer was accepted.
A statement from our board of directors reads: “First and foremost, we thank Callum for his many excellent performances and wish him well with his new club.
“We also thank Aberdeen for their cooperation and swiftness in reaching an agreement which we feel is fair and beneficial to all parties.
“Since recognising Callum’s immense potential by bringing him to Meadow Lane two-and-a-half years ago and extending his deal until the end of the 2022-23 season shortly thereafter, we have rejected a number of bids from several clubs for his services.
“However, as much as we had hoped to have him with us for this season’s promotion push, what Aberdeen have been able to offer both us and Callum, who departs to play top-flight football with the potential to compete in Europe in future seasons, leaves us in no doubt that the correct decision has been reached.
“Today’s news will of course be disappointing for our supporters, who we know shared our enjoyment of watching Callum in full flow, but we would like to assure them that, as with all high-performing players, we have been planning for this eventuality for some time.
“We have always made it clear that revenue from player sales will be reinvested in the squad and have already commenced dialogue with our head coach, Luke Williams, to assess the impact of Callum’s departure and how it may affect our ongoing recruitment plans.
“This summer has already seen us add a number of exciting attacking players to the squad and we will continue to assess various targets to identify those who can help us achieve our ambition of returning to the EFL this season.”