Harrogate Town dearly would have loved to keep hold of Toby Sims

The 27-year-old right-back had his contract terminated by mutual consent earlier this month to allow him to return to America and accept an offer to play over there.

Sims has been a regular starter whenever fit for the League Two Sulphurites ever since joining the club as a free agent in January 2023, making 46 appearances this term and 74 in total.

But, with his deal at Town due to expire this summer, and an opportunity having presented itself which will enable the former Pittsburgh Riverhound to live and work closer to his partner, Weaver reluctantly had to accept that Sims' future lay elsewhere.

“I absolutely would have offered him a deal," the Town boss told BBC Radio York.

"I had a knock on the door a few weeks before the season ended and Toby was looking a bit nervous. We agreed to him going to America, but with a bit of disappointment from our side in a footballing sense.

"But, we knew that was his wish to go over there and see his partner and build a life there. He will probably have footballing regrets moving from the EFL, where a lot of people want to come and play, but this is a life choice.

"And, there’s no way that I am big enough in his life to get in between that, nor can I disagree with his intent for his wishes to come true.

"We made that agreement together, and Toby was able to fly out just before the last game of the season so that he could register for an American team in time so that he didn’t have to come back again for a visa. Hopefully that saved him time and money.

"But, he 100 percent would’ve been part of our plans. He was aggressive, he was an up-and-down right-back, he grew in stature and he will be missed.”

Having returned to the UK following his spell playing for Pittsburgh in America's second tier, Worksop-born Sims initially linked up with Harrogate as a trialist in December 2022 on the recommendation of former Town winger Joe Leesley.

And he impressed boss Weaver while training with the club, doing enough to earn himself a short-term contract before making his debut from the substitutes' bench against Stevenage on January 14, 2023.

He went on to make the right-back position his own during the final three months of that season, playing a further 16 matches as he helped shore up a leaky defence while the Sulphurites battled to retain their Football League status.

Sims' 2023/34 campaign was disrupted by injury, a serious back problem ruling him out for the majority of the season and restricting him to just 11 appearances in all competitions.

But, he was not far off being ever-present during 2024/25, leaving Weaver with big shoes to fill on the right-hand side of his back four.