Brighton loanee Marc Leonard 'absolutely loving' life as a Cobbler after admitting to 'nerves' before Sixfields move

Not only has Marc Leonard quickly established himself a regular starter for the Cobblers following his loan move from Brighton & Hove Albion, he is already considered one of the first names on Jon Brady’s team sheet.

Town supporters would have been forgiven for knowing very little about Brighton’s young midfield maestro as little as two months ago, but few loanees have made such an instant and impressive impact as the 20-year-old.

After sitting on the bench in the opening weeks of the season, Leonard has started each of the last seven league games and he has been instrumental in nearly all of them, prompting some supporters to already label him as one of the club’s best ever loan signings.

"It’s obviously been different to what I’ve experienced before but I think I have progressed loads so far,” said Leonard, who admitted to ‘nerves’ before moving to Sixfields from Brighton in the summer. “I feel my game has really improved on and off the ball.

“It's good to get on the ball because you start building relationships with different players and it improves everybody's game, but there’s also the other side of the game.

"I'm enjoying it and I do feel I have improved as a player. It's been absolutely perfect for me coming here. Maybe there was a bit of naivety on my side at first but it's exceeded all my expectations that I had.”

Leonard has thrived both in a deep midfield role and playing more advanced. He added: "I don't really have a preference - it's whatever gets me the ball the quickest! I have played higher with other clubs where we have had a bit more possession but if not I like to play deeper and I've also played as a false nine up in Scotland. I'm quite comfortable anywhere on the pitch.”

The Scotland U21 international primarily moved to Sixfields to develop his game, but he also wanted to experience the blood and thunder of senior, lower league football where three points each week are the be all and end all.

So far, with Cobblers second in the league and on a four-game winning run, it could hardly be going any better on both fronts.

"We have started really well,” Leonard continued. “We all know what happened last season and I think getting over that could have been really hard and it could have been something that people dwelled on.

"But we haven't done that and I didn't feel like that was the case when I came in. It's all been positive and I think you can see that from the way we have started the season.

"We still have more to give and we can still get better but I don't think we could have asked for a much better start, maybe apart from one game.

"To come out on a loan to a team that's winning and fighting at the top of the league, I couldn't have asked for much more and at the moment I am loving it."