Carlisle United record signing shouldn't fear January despite selection problems | OneFootball

It's not been an easy ride for the striker since making the switch to Cumbria.

The appointment of Mike Williamson by Carlisle United has had a lot of knock-on effects on the playing staff, some good and some bad.

The change in coaching and style has brought out the best of Sam Lavelle, who is currently going through his longest purple patch as a Carlisle player since joining the club from Charlton Athletic last summer. Fellow defender Terell Thomas has also shown off his skills on the ball in the side's new possession-heavy way of playing too.

However, when some prosper, others fall behind, and that has certainly been the case with a few of the Blues. One player in particular that supporters thought might thrive under Williamson was Luke Armstrong.

The former Harrogate Town centre-forward, who United paid a club record fee for in the last January transfer window, scored in the head coach's first game in charge - a 2-0 win over Swindon Town, but his form has really dropped off since then.

Luckily for him, it doesn't appear that he will be one of the potential Carlisle casualties of this upcoming window.

Luke Armstrong should have no January fears

Williamson revealed that he has had some conversations with players that could be moved on from the club in the first month of 2025. That cast minds onto the members of the team who have been used pretty infrequently of late, one of whom is Armstrong.

With Georgie Kelly now fit, he is at the bottom of the three-striker-long pecking order at Brunton Park, and he was left out of the squad entirely for Carlisle's last match against Crewe Alexandra. This would usually make him one of the leading candidates for a potential January departure, but that surely won't be the case with him.

The United head coach has spoken glowingly about Armstrong and his work ethic. "I’ve known Luke for a long, long time," said Williamson, via the News & Star.

"I've played with him (at Gateshead), so I know his strengths and attributes. Resilience is right at the top of them. He's someone that will just keep going until the next day, with his engine, his desire to run and carry."

The contract that Armstrong signed when he joined the Blues would also make it hard for them to move him on if they wanted to. He agreed to a three-and-a-half-year deal with the then League One outfit, and he is said to be on a pretty decent wage.

In fairness to the 28-year-old, he's not the only one that has unexpectedly fallen out of favour. Fellow January addition Harry Lewis has fallen by the wayside, at least temporarily, after a poor mistake against Cheltenham Town which opened the door for academy product Gabe Breeze.

Lewis' passing abilities seemed to fit perfectly with what Williamson wanted to do, but Breeze has emerged as the best option between the sticks. He, too, is unlikely to be shipped off in January, mostly because there's really nobody behind him to fill in as the second choice in case the ex-Bradford City glovesman did exit the club.

Luke Armstrong can work his way back into contention

The good thing about Carlisle's striker options is that they all offer something a bit different. AFC Bournemouth loanee Dan Adu-Adjei is a raw prospect and the quickest of them. Kelly has great hold-up play and can bully defenders. Armstrong is somewhere in the middle.

His off-the-ball work rate will always be admired and respected, it's his confidence in front of goal that needs to be worked on.

There's no doubt that he can do it at this level; he has proven that over multiple seasons with Harrogate.

It's getting that second-guessing out of his game that will help him work his way back into the squad.