Standing at 6`3”, Stead signs from Notts County where he has spent the last four seasons, making 182 appearances and scoring 51 goals in all competitions while the club competed in League Two, although the striker is now ready for a new challenge.

He told https://www.harrogatetownafc.com: “Coming away from Notts County after four years I knew I needed a change and something fresh.

“I wanted to get things sorted out as soon as possible and make sure I knew where I was playing my football next season, I’m delighted to be here and really looking forward to getting going.

“The things that have been going on at this club over the last two or three years are fantastic, they’re moving in the right direction and I want to be a part of that, help improve it and move us on to that next step.”

The Huddersfield-born forward has hit double figures in all competitions in each of his last five seasons, stretching back to the 2014/15 season with League One Bradford City.

Stead was on loan at the Bantams from his boyhood club Huddersfield, who the striker had re-joined in 2013/14 having started his career with The Terriers.

An impressive 18 goals in 30 appearances in the 2003/04 season earned Stead a £1million-plus move to Blackburn Rovers where he spent two seasons in the Premier League, scoring a memorable winner against Manchester United during that time.

A £1.8m move to Sunderland followed where Stead spent another season in the Premier League, before returning to the top-flight with Neil Warnock’s Sheffield United in the 2006/07 season.

Town’s newest addition made a total of 86 Premier League appearances across the three clubs, before turning out for Ipswich, Coventry and Bristol City in the Championship prior to his return to Huddersfield, though it was his recent record that caught the eye of Simon Weaver.

“His career has been outstanding, but what is important for us is his track record over the last four years, he’s played over 180 games and kept himself in great shape.

“We watched a lot of him last season and he contributed a lot between the boxes, he was agile, put himself about, took up great positions in the box and executed his finishes well.

“We’re really pleased to have got him, he is an infectious character and is going to be good for all the younger players”.