Cobblers fans will be hoping singing striker Waters has got the X Factor

The 22-year-old is, it seems, a man of many talents, and as well as being a professional footballer, he can also hold a tune.

It’s not something he sees as a second career, but Waters did once make a cheeky bid for stardom as he once went along to audition to get on the X Factor.

“It is true, it was a bit of a one-off when I was in Birmingham one day,” said Waters when asked if he tried to get on the ITV talent show.

“My little sister said they were open auditions and we should go along, so I went and did that, but nothing came of it, so I thought I would stick to being a professional footballer!”

So what did he sing at his audition?

“I sang You Give Me Something by James Morrison, I went for a bit of a slow classic.”

It is traditional at Sixfields for all new players to get up and perform a song in front of the rest of the squad on the first away trip, so surely that is not going to be a problem for Waters, who also got up on stage to sing at Cheltenham Town’s end-of-season dinner following their National League title win in 2016.

But Waters admits he is a bit worried about it, as he said: “Well, now all the boys are going to be expecting big things!

“I will do a different song, and hopefully they will like it. We’ll have to wait and see.”

Anyway, enough of off-field activities, Waters is in town to play football, so what type of player can the Cobblers supporters expect to see when he steps out on to the Sixfields turf.

“I can score goals, and I like to think I am an attacking player,” said Waters, who scored 16 goals in all competitions for a struggling Cheltenham team in Sky Bet League Two last season.

“I like to be a constant threat during the games, and just be a nuisance the whole time.

“I like to think I don’t stop running, so I am just a really busy player who likes to get on the ball and likes to make things happen.”

Waters broke into senior football in league one with Crewe Alexandra, having come through the youth ranks at Gresty Road.

He was surprisingly released though in the summer of 2015, but instead of feeling sorry for himself, he opted to sign for the non-League Robins, and it proved a wise move.

And it could be that the Cobblers will reap the benefits of that brave step by a young player.

“I think that in the past two seasons, playing conference and league two football, I have learned the other side to the game, the nitty gritty parts,” said Waters.

“I feel like I have matured into a man now, and that is starting to show in my game.

“When I left Crewe it was all about going and playing games, but ultimately the main focus was to get back into the League, whether I was going to do that with Cheltenham or play well enough to go with another club.

“Luckily enough we got promoted, so I made it back into the League, and then last season was about moving up a level again. Now that I have done that, I am buzzing to be here.”