Jonson Clarke-Harris remains a Peterborough United player after an agreed move to Bristol Rovers collapsed

Rovers had reportedly agreed a fee of £800k to take the 29 year-old back to the Memorial Stadium after an intense day of negotiations between the two clubs.

Clarke-Harris travelled to Bristol from Portsmouth, where Posh are based ahead of tomorrow’s League One match at Fratton Park, to agree personal terms and take a medical.

All went smoothly, but the relevant paperwork wasn’t lodged with the authorities in time. The EFL do not allow clubs to register transfers after the official 11pm deadline even if a deal is close, as can happen in the Premier League.

Whether or not the deal will be resurrected in January remains to be seen, but the double golden boot winner would then be within six months of becoming a free agent and might decide to sit tight.

Posh are expected to comment some time on Saturday, although a scheduled League One fixture will now take priority.

Posh did complete the signing of Swindon Town striker Jacob Wakeling which was never dependent on whether or not Clarke-Harris left.

Wakeling signs

Posh sold Joe Tomlinson to MK Dons and loaned Kabongo Tshimanga to Fleetwood Town during Friday’s transfer deadline day.

Posh kept hold of star centre-back Ronnie Edwards despite interest from Premier League side West Ham United. The 20 year-old had been expected to leave, but his valuation wasn’t met. Edwards is under contract until the end of next season.

Posh signed Clarke-Harris from Rovers for a reported £1 million in August 2020. They were hoping to receive a similar fee from his sale.

The actual fee for a 29 year-old entering the last year of his contract at Posh would have remained undisclosed, although Bristol Live reported it as a Rovers club record £800k, more than double their previous highest outlay.

Rovers were the most persistent of those believed to be interested in Clarke-Harris. Posh chairman Darragh MacAnthony revealed earlier that the Rovers chairman had been in constant touch all day.

The options for Clarke-Harris, unless he wanted to see out his contract at Posh, were limited after League One big hitters Bolton Wanderers and Derby County made it clear they weren’t interested.

Bolton boss Ian Evatt said earlier today he would not break the club’s wage structure or change his team’s style of play to accommodate Clarke-Harris even though he admired his goalscoring record at League One level.

There was little interest from Championship clubs for a player with little re-sale value.

Clarke-Harris has scored 76 goals in 153 appearances for Posh (135 starts) and twice won the League One Golden Boot in 2020-21, when his 31 goals helped Posh to automatic promotion, and in 2022-23 when he managed 26 goals.

He is the fifth highest Posh goalscorer in Football League matches with 71 goals. He is currently one goal behind Aaron Mclean, but could now overtake him.

He could now play at Portsmouth on Saturday. He would have been heavily involved in the match preparation.