Levi Sutton to remain at Harrogate Town after agreeing new one-year deal

The 28-year-old central midfielder is one of six Sulphurites players whose deals expire this summer to be offered fresh terms by manager Simon Weaver.

The former Bradford City man has followed experienced goalkeeper Mark Oxley in agreeing to stay put in North Yorkshire, just over a week after striker Josh March opted to leave the club to join League Two rivals Crewe Alexandra.

Meanwhile, centre-half Anthony O’Connor, the versatile Warren Burrell and veteran forward Jack Muldoon are still in the process of making up their minds on whether to put pen to paper on their contracts.

Sutton was in and out of Weaver’s starting line-up last term, but still featured 34 times for Town (22 starts).

He would likely have played more games, but having begun to deliver a series of improved performances alongside January recruit Bryn Morris, he suffered a season-ending hamstring injury against Carlisle in early March and thus missed Harrogate’s final 10 matches.

His appearances in 2024/25 took his overall tally in yellow and black to 94 across two spells.

He first turned out for Town in 2018 while on loan from hometown club Scunthorpe United, with whom he began his career.

Sutton would then make the switch to Bradford, racking up close to 100 appearances for the Bantams before again opting to join up with Weaver’s side in January 2023.

Sutton’s decision to stick around means that Harrogate now have 14 players contracted to the club for the upcoming 2025/26 campaign. That number includes academy graduates Lucas Barnes and Marcus Etherington, who have recently been handed professional deals.

With the arrival of new recruit Jack Evans from National League outfit Halifax, Weaver is now blessed with plenty of options in central midfield.

In addition to Sutton and Evans, the Sulphurites also have Morris, Ben Fox, Tom Hill and rookie Barnes tied down until at least the summer of 2026.

And, while they also have two good goalkeeping options in James Belshaw and Oxley, the rest of their squad looks rather unbalanced.

They do have three widemen under contract in the shape of Ellis Taylor, George Thomson and Stephen Duke-McKenna, however Zico Asare and youngster Etherington are the only defenders currently on the club’s books, and Tom Cursons their solitary striker.