Miles Welch-Hayes leaves Harrogate Town after contract is terminated

The 26-year-old defender had a year to run on his deal at Wetherby Road but was told at the end of the 2022/23 campaign that he was free to find himself a new club.

And Sulphurites boss Simon Weaver was happy to release the former Colchester United right-back in order to help “smooth the process” of him securing employment elsewhere.

"Miles is a good guy, a really engaging character, but he is a player who is at an age where he wants and needs regular football, so we told him he was free to start speaking to other clubs this summer,” Weaver told the Harrogate Advertiser.

"We are delighted that he has got himself a move. We agreed to terminate his contract to help smooth the process. We didn’t want to stand in his way by asking for a fee for his services.

"We wish him well for the future. Last season, when it got to the point where we felt that he needed to be playing and wanted him to go out on loan, he was a bit reluctant at first.

"But he went to Altrincham and did really well there, got those games under his belt, and I think it has stood him in good stead.”

Welch-Hayes joined Town following his release by League Two rivals Colchester at the end of 2021/22.

He began the season as a regular in Weaver’s side, where he operated on the right of a back-three and started each of the club’s opening nine league fixtures.

Having lost his place in the team, he scored a late winner against Morecambe in an EFL Trophy tie in October, then found himself restored to the starting line-up for a league clash at Walsall seven days later.

But a disastrous opening 45 saw the Sulphurites’ defence breached three times, leading to Welch-Hayes’ withdrawal at half-time.

That appearance was to prove his last for Harrogate, and he joined Altrincham on loan in January, remaining with the National League outfit until the end of the season.

In total, he played 14 games for Town.