Brady and Cobblers 'adjust' their transfer plans after Etete's return to Tottenham

Manager Jon Brady says the Cobblers have 'adjusted' their transfer plans and will look to bring in an extra forward this month to cope with the unexpected loss of striker Kion Etete.

The young forward was recalled by parent club Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday in a body blow to Cobblers’ promotion challenge.

Brady admitted he was taken by surprise when informed of Tottenham’s decision, with Etete set to head back out on loan to Sky Bet League One outfit Cheltenham Town for the rest of the season.

The Cobblers were already in the market for a new forward this month and have been linked with a loan move for Cardiff City youngster Chanka Zimba.

“It’s always the risk you have with loan players but we prefer to look forward than back and appreciate what Kion did for us and we are working hard to ensure that we find a suitable replacement,” confirmed Brady.

“With Kion recovering from injury, we were not expecting him back immediately anyway and had planned our recruitment around that, so we just need to adjust a little and bring in another forward to what we had planned.

“Kion was obviously an asset and we’ve got to make sure that we keep working hard to try and find players that will really help take us forward over the next four months and 24 games.

“For Kion’s part, he has expressed to me how happy he was with his spell at Northampton and thanked all the coaching staff for making him a better player.

"I feel we have shown as a football club and as coaching staff how much we can improve these individuals and a lot of clubs see that.

“We have created a very good environment for all the players and will continue to do that. It’s a team with great spirit and we are looking forward to the upcoming games."

Brady will not rush Etete’s replacement, pointing to Cobblers’ success without him in recent games.

He added: “First and foremost, we look at ourselves. Kion came off against Leyton Orient and we went on to win that game with what we have in the building.

“We then went and won away at Exeter and Harrogate so that’s one tough home game and two hugely tough away games and we got three wins in a row without Kion.

“We got the result on Saturday but that was due to a lack of preparation and fitness. It shows we can win games without Kion."