HUDDERSFIELD Town have hijacked Bolton Wanderers’ bid to sign Wrexham striker Ryan Hardie, who has joined on loan for the rest of the season.

Wanderers were tipped to win the race to sign the Scot, but Town gazumped their promotion rivals at the 11th hour.

Wrexham’s purchase of Davis Keillor-Dunn helped open the door to Hardie’s exit and his predatory presence will add a new goalscoring edge for promotion-chasing Town.

Ex-Glasgow Rangers man Hardie joined Wrexham last summer after scoring 74 times in just under 250 appearances for Plymouth Argyle.

New Huddersfield Town signing Ryan Hardie. Picture courtesy of HTAFC.

placeholder image — New Huddersfield Town signing Ryan Hardie. Picture courtesy of HTAFC.

Despite arriving in West Yorkshire in the final stages of his rehabilitation from a minor knee injury sustained in December, Hardie remains on schedule to return to full fitness shortly.

Town head coach Liam Manning said: "To sign a forward of Ryan’s calibre at this stage of the season is a huge boost, and his record at this level speaks for itself. Since arriving, adding a different type of profile to our options up front was always part of the conversation, and Ryan ticks a lot of those boxes for us.

"We’ll quickly get him up to speed, and I look forward to working more closely with him alongside our coaches over the next few months.

"Obviously a good goalscorer but more importantly a hard worker off the ball who is just as likely to create chances for others, his arrival rounds off a really positive transfer window for the club."

Huddersfield Town head coach Liam Manning, pictured during the derby win over Bradford City. Photo: Tony Johnson.

Town sporting director Chris Markham added: "Ryan is a player we’ve maintained interest in throughout this transfer window, so we’re really happy to have got the deal over the line today. A player whose ability and experience we believe will help us in chasing our ambitions this season, he adds something different to our forward line and has an excellent record at this level.

"Through a combination of transfer, injury and suspension, we knew that adding goals to the team was going to be important this month, and while Ryan is just shy of full match fitness at present, we don’t believe it will take him long to get back up to speed. We want him here to make a difference in March, April and May, not just in the immediacy, so we’ll work hard alongside him to get him up and running as soon as possible.”

Hardie added: “I’m delighted to get this move completed and can’t wait to get started. Everything I’ve heard about the club has been really impressive, and the conversations I’ve had with the Head Coach about how we want to play and what we want to achieve have been music to my ears.