Brady reveals how Marc Leonard's move to Cobblers first came about

Cobblers boss Jon Brady has revealed how Marc Leonard’s move to the club first came about two years ago.

The young midfielder arrived at Sixfields on loan from Brighton as an unknown quantity in the summer of 2022 but he quickly established himself as a starter and soon became the first name on Brady’s team sheet.

He played 97 games in two hugely successful seasons on loan with Northampton and was voted the club’s 2023/24 Player of the Season by a massive margin.

"I don’t want to lose a scout but there’s a scout in London who I played with years ago and he spotted both Kieron (Bowie) and Marc,” explained Brady. “The club has scouts dotted around certain areas in the country and we keep in touch with them.

"He said about Marc and I asked if he thought he could handle himself in League Two because it was his first loan and it can be tough for a young player but the scout said ‘don’t worry, this boy will handle himself’ and he told me that we’ve got to get him.

"Col (Colin Calderwood) went to watch him and then it was reinforced and then it was ‘right, we need to get this boy’ and he ended up doing an OK job, didn’t he?”

Meanwhile, Brady says there is no strict deadline for Town’s six out-of-contract players – Louis Appéré, Lee Burge, Shaun McWilliams, Sam Sherring, Ben Fox and Jordan Willis – to accept the deals offered to them.

"I’ve got strong relationships with all of them and I can pick up the phone and they won’t blank me,” Brady added. “They will just be honest conversations and that’s how we’ve built our culture. You could close yourself off with deadlines but I want them to stay and that’s why we’ve offered them contracts and you just don’t know in football.”