Nottingham Forest fans were left surprised on Wednesday evening when confirmation came through of Harry Arter signing for Notts County on loan.
This is a player Forest paid good money for in 2020; it’s unclear just how much, but the claims of a £5million fee are thought to be wide of the mark.
Arter was a proven midfielder. More than 250 appearances for Bournemouth as well as spells with Cardiff City and Fulham, Arter was signed by Sabri Lamouchi but he was sacked just a few weeks later.
Chris Hughton didn’t really take to Arter, and the Irishman was told he was free to move on at the end of last season.
Arter joined Charlton Athletic on loan for the first half of the season before heading back to Forest, where he still had no future under Steve Cooper.
Now 32, it has become clear that Arter is just desperate to play again having missed out on a move elsewhere in January.
With a move to non-league still possible outside the conventional transfer window, Arter has now hopped over the Trent to join Notts County.
Ian Burchnall’s side are chasing a playoff place in the Vanarama National League but haven’t won in their last four games.
The hope is that Arter – a major coup for a non-league club – can help get County back on track in their push for promotion.
Burchnall has now spoken about Arter’s move and revealed to the County official website that Arter is the one who actually asked for the move to happen.
County were more than willing to take Arter in and Burchnall thanked Forest for making the deal happen, with Arter possibly putting himself in the shop window with this stint at Meadow Lane.
No matter how Arter fares with the Magpies, it’s hard to see him ever appearing for Forest again even with one year left on his contract.
“We’re delighted that the opportunity to sign someone of Harry’s pedigree has presented itself to us,” said Burchnall. “This move was instigated by Harry himself, which demonstrates his character and determination to play competitive football, and we’d like to thank Forest for their cooperation in making the deal happen.”
“We’ll obviously have to build Harry’s minutes gradually initially but with so many games coming up in quick succession we’re confident he’ll be up to speed quickly and will be a big help to us,” he added.