Peterborough United still waiting on Harley Mills decision despite mysterious social media post and Jack Sparkes to leave London Road for nothing
Left-back Harley Mills has yet to agree to stay at Peterborough United, according to director of football Barry Fry.
Mills made a social media post on Saturday evening with the words ‘not long now’ written underneath a picture of himself in Posh kit at Wembley.
That led to speculation he was close to signing a new Posh contract. The 19 year-old is about to enter the last year of his current deal and Posh are keen to tie him down for longer amid reported interest from Premier League Fulham and Scottish champions Celtic.
Mills reportedly hesitated about signing the new deal as he was unsure of his place in the Posh pecking order for the left-back position, but the departure of Tayo Edun to Stockport County and the imminent transfer of Jack Sparkes to Bristol Rovers means Mills would battle £500k capture Rio Adebisi for a starting place. Adebisi missed virtually the whole of last season so Mills would be fancied to start the season in the first XI. Posh are not actively seeking new left-backs.
The PT asked Fry whether or not Mills had agreed to stay and he replied ‘not yet.’ When told about a social media post which has apparently now been taken down, Fry added: “Hope and pray Harley is staying. Perhaps now he sees Tayo signing for Stockport and Jack leaving so there is only him and Rio fighting for left-back position it will make a difference? Fingers crossed.”
Mills shot to prominence late in 2024-25 season after spending time on loan at National League South side Enfield Town. He returned to break into the first-team and delivered a man-of-the-match winning display in the shock 2-0 Vertu Trophy Final win against Birmingham at Wembley. Mills opened the scoring with a brilliant free kick strike and assisted on the second goal scored by Hector Kyprianou.
Sparkes only moved to London Road last summer, but was a major disappointment. He finished the season on loan at League Two side Chesterfield. His move to Rovers is expected to be confirmed early this week. Fry has confirmed it’s a free transfer move with a sell-on clause and other add ons.