Warrington Wolves pay transfer fee to bring Huddersfield Giants forward to club early

Huddersfield Giants have confirmed that they have accepted a transfer fee from Warrington to allow Luke Yates to join the Wolves early.

Love Rugby League revealed in April how Yates was commanding interest from the Wire, with his existing contract at the Giants up at the end of this season.

That deal was eventually confirmed by Warrington, with Yates agreeing to sign a two-year deal from the start of next season. However, the move has now happened with immediate effect, with the Wolves paying to break Yates out of the remaining few months of his deal at Huddersfield.

“It’s with a heavy heart that the board have agreed to this arrangement as Luke is extremely popular within the whole club and of course an outstanding forward,” Giants managing director, Richard Thewlis, explained.

“The opportunity he has to potentially play in a Grand Final this year is a huge carrot and one that we felt we couldn’t stand in the way of should he wish to take it and once the Wolves had met our terms the decision was his which we fully support.”

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Thewlis confirmed that Huddersfield are now likely to look at the transfer market for a potential replacement.

He said: “He has been a magnificent player and person for us and will be sorely missed by us all and will always be welcomed back at the John Smiths Stadium.

“The loss of Luke will give further opportunities to our younger players such as Fenton Rogers, Hugo Salabio, Jack Billington and create space within the cap as well as a quota slot to bring in players should it be felt necessary.”

Yates said: “I’m really excited for the challenge. The opportunity came up to head over to Warrington early and I want to play my part now in contributing to what can hopefully be a successful end to the season for the club.

“To have the opportunity to work with and learn from Sam [Burgess] is massive for me. There’s a great roster here and I’m excited now to get amongst it and pull on the Warrington jersey.”

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