Alex Hartridge: Exeter City departure 'best decision for me', says homegrown defender
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Alex Hartridge made his debut in an EFL Trophy game in November 2017 before making his first league appearance 13 months later
Alex Hartridge says the decision to leave Exeter City in the summer is the best one for his career.
The 25-year-old has been at City since he was 10 and was a key part of the side that won promotion to League One in 2022.
But after 154 appearances the defender has decided to find a new club.
"I've been quite sure in it being the best decision for me career-wise and life development-wise, and that's what I've made it for," Hartridge said.
"I didn't realise how emotional it would be leaving, and it is going to be really hard. I'm going to miss the club and miss the area."
Having made his debut as a 17-year-old Hartridge has seen the club come close to promotion a number of times before finally clinching it two years ago.
A regular in League One last season, he has found chances harder to come by this term, having played just twice since the end of January.
Hartridge was given an emotional send off after Saturday's win over Stevenage
He was given what could be a farewell game on Saturday as he captained the side in the 1-0 win over Stevenage and was carried aloft in front of the home supporters.
"It was definitely emotional and a little bit sad, but it felt right and it felt fitting as a way of saying goodbye," he told BBC Radio Devon.
"Kind of selfishly, it felt nice that it was a little bit about me for that brief period and I could say my thank you to those people that have supported me.
"I thought I was going to play and I was hoping to carry on playing until the end of the season and have Oxford as maybe a last game, and maybe that's still the case, but to have a kind of a send off then was amazing."
Alex Hartridge (left) will follow fellow promotion-winning academy graduates Archie Collins (centre) and Josh Key in leaving Exeter City
So what of the future for a central defender with a promotion on his record and more than a century of matches in the English Football League?
"It's all up in the air," he said.
"I'm looking for a lot of different things, and I'm not sure what that's going to be and what opportunities are going to be there for me.
"I'm quite clear in what I will want.
"I'm very aware that it might end up being a decision I'll regret, but look back on my time here and think, 'This was happier,' but it's an itch I need to scratch.
"I need to learn, and if it goes terribly, it goes terribly, it's just something I need to go through, and if I learn from it brilliant, if it goes really well, then even better."