Harrogate Town 'love' Tom Eastman and will try to persuade on-loan Colchester United defender to return

Tom Eastman has made 19 appearances for Harrogate Town since joining on loan from Colchester United in January. Picture: Pete Norton/Getty Images

Simon Weaver says he has every intention of trying to persuade Tom Eastman to join Harrogate Town on a permanent basis.

The 31-year-old centre-half joined the Sulphurites on loan from Colchester United in January and has been one of the club’s stand-out performers during their successful fight for League Two survival.

He has played the full 90 minutes of every single one of the 19 fixtures which he has been available for since arriving in North Yorkshire, and with his contract with the U’s due to expire this summer, will become a free agent upon departing Wetherby Road.

Geography could well be a stumbling block, due to Eastman’s family being based in Essex, however Weaver insists that he will do everything he can to convince the player that his future lies in Harrogate.

Harrogate Town manager Simon Weaver is a big fan of Tom Eastman's. Picture: Brody Pattison

“There's a possibility, now that the season is drawing to a close, that we can look to try and sort something out with Easty,” the Town boss said.

"We love him here and we would love to be able to keep him at Harrogate Town. He has been immense for us alongside Anthony O’Connor and has helped to bring the solidity to the heart of our back-line that we really needed.

"He is aware of exactly how much we love him, but I haven’t wanted to put pressure on him and back him into a corner because his family is down in the Colchester area and it is obviously a long way from here.

"We have been trying to manage that situation by giving him some Mondays off on weeks where we haven’t had a Tuesday night game, which I think has helped make life easier.

"But now that we are safe, we will, at some point, get together and have a conversation to see if we can sort something out that works for both parties.”