Salford City's Luke Armstrong discusses his future at Hartlepool United as striker's impressive loan spell continues in the National League

With nine goals in 13 games, the Salford City loanee is playing and scoring regularly in the National League for a Pools side who have been able to mount a promotion challenge following his arrival back in December.

Armstrong is on loan at Victoria Park until the end of the 2020-21 campaign but remains contracted at League Two side Salford until the end of next season.

The striker has attracted plenty of Football League interest but has made no secret of his preference to remain close to his County Durham home.

And given his impressive form since returning to the north east, Poolies are desperate for the club to keep hold of Armstrong beyond the current season.

“I’m loving it and that’s the main thing because I just want to enjoy my football,” Armstrong responded when asked about a potential return to Pools after this season.

“It’s hard when you’ve signed a contract to a club and I’ve got to fulfil that contract but if there’s another chance of coming out on loan this is the first place I’d want to come.”

Armstrong boasts a prolific scoring record when playing in the north east with 23 goals for Blyth Spartans during the 2016-17 season and 10 goals in 17 matches for Gateshead in the first half of the 2018-19 campaign. And now he’s back home and back scoring again, he’s reluctant to leave this time around.

"I don’t want to be travelling all over the country because every time I’ve done it, it hasn’t worked out because I don’t enjoy it,” Armstrong added.

"I want to stay as close to home as possible and I’ve loved it here. I’d love to come back no matter where the club are because I haven’t enjoyed my football this much in a long time.

“I’ve come from a place at Salford where I was thinking that I’m not really enjoying my football anymore but I’ve come in here and it’s flipped around straight away.

"I’m just loving playing now and that’s the main thing, if you’re enjoying your football then you’re a ten times better player.

“But my main focus at the moment is on getting us promoted and we'll see what happens from there.”

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