£500,000-Rated Former Preston North End Man Agrees League One Switch After…

Carlisle United defender Jack Armer has agreed a move to League One side Burton Albion, as reported by Football Insider on X.

Armer, who is valued at half a million on Transfermarkt, joined Championship outfit Preston North End as a seven-year-old but struggled to make the grade at Deepdale.

He was released at the end of the 2019/20 season, curtailed by COVID, and has been carving out a career at Carlisle ever since.

He’s racked up 152 appearances across League One and Two but suffered relegation with the Cumbrians at the end of last season. However, it appears he will still be playing in League One, even if his former teammates are not, as he looks to move to ambitious Burton Albion.

The Brewers were also in relegation danger, avoiding the drop by just two points, and they’re setting out to ensure there is no repeat this season. They’ve already added significantly to their squad, with Elliot Watt, Ben Whitfield, Tomas Kalinauskas and Danilo Orsi among the new faces.

They’re now likely to add Armer to that list, but Carlisle fans need not get excited about a possible replacement; Paul Simpson has clarified he is unlikely to bring a player in to replace Armer.

“No,” he replied when asked by local press if he intended to replace the 23-year-old. “I’ve got Cameron Harper, Taylor Charters can do that job there as well and then we’ve got Jack Robinson to come back in as well.

“And also, I don’t want to bring somebody else in and block the pathway for somebody like Aran Fitzpatrick.”

“I think we’ve got enough in that area and that’s the reason why I’m thinking we’ll do what we might be doing.”

Armer appeared for Scotland up to Under 19 level, and has 199 career appearances, both with the Cumbrians, and with a loan spell at Lancaster City in 2019/20.

He is not likely to be the only high-profile departure from Brunton Park this summer – former Leeds youth Alfie McCalmont is also set to depart in the coming days.

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He was released at the end of the 2019/20 season, curtailed by COVID, and has been carving out a career at Carlisle ever since.

He’s racked up 152 appearances across League One and Two but suffered relegation with the Cumbrians at the end of last season. However, it appears he will still be playing in League One, even if his former teammates are not, as he looks to move to ambitious Burton Albion.

The Brewers were also in relegation danger, avoiding the drop by just two points, and they’re setting out to ensure there is no repeat this season. They’ve already added significantly to their squad, with Elliot Watt, Ben Whitfield, Tomas Kalinauskas and Danilo Orsi among the new faces.

They’re now likely to add Armer to that list, but Carlisle fans need not get excited about a possible replacement; Paul Simpson has clarified he is unlikely to bring a player in to replace Armer.

“No,” he replied when asked by local press if he intended to replace the 23-year-old. “I’ve got Cameron Harper, Taylor Charters can do that job there as well and then we’ve got Jack Robinson to come back in as well.

“And also, I don’t want to bring somebody else in and block the pathway for somebody like Aran Fitzpatrick.”

“I think we’ve got enough in that area and that’s the reason why I’m thinking we’ll do what we might be doing.”

Armer appeared for Scotland up to Under 19 level, and has 199 career appearances, both with the Cumbrians, and with a loan spell at Lancaster City in 2019/20.

He is not likely to be the only high-profile departure from Brunton Park this summer – former Leeds youth Alfie McCalmont is also set to depart in the coming days.

 

Writer’s View
Squad churn is always interesting in League One; who has the highest number of ins and outs? Burton are always up there, and once again, it is all change at the Pirelli.

Armer will be a miss for Carlisle; he’s been a solid performer for them and was a key figure in their promotion in 2022/23. He’s another example of a player coming through a good Championship academy but needing games to progress. Preston might have missed out on unearthing a jewel here, but it isn’t easy to strike a balance.

One wonders if, perhaps without COVID, Armer might have managed a season or two longer at Deepdale. If he had, who knows what might have happened? Still, Preston’s loss looks likely to be Burton’s gain.