Brady plays down comparisons between Marc Leonard and new Cobblers signing Matt Dibley-Dias
Jon Brady has played down comparisons between Marc Leonard and Cobblers new signing Matt Dibley-Dias, saying they are ‘totally different players’.
Leonard was exceptional during two years on loan at Northampton and has singed permanently for Birmingham this summer, leaving Town with a hole in the middle of the park.
Dibley-Dias, who’s joined on loan from Fulham, will be viewed by many supporters as a direct replacement for Leonard but whilst there are some similarities in terms of their development, they possess different qualities.
"We're really happy to get Matt in,” said Brady. “I don't want to compare him with anyone but you have to look at Marc Leonard and where he was when he first came to us compared to where he finished up.
"We're obviously trying to integrate Matt into the squad and that'll take time because he's not done much of a pre-season and he had no minutes before Saturday so it'll be a case of building him up. But he looks good and he will be really strong in that central midfield area for us.
"I think he'll be a totally different player to Marc so I wouldn't try and compare them. I was more talking about how Marc developed over a period of time with us and I think that will be the case with Matt as well.
"I've known Fulham's loan manager Huw Jennings for over 10 years and he's a good friend so we have a great relationship and he's been brilliant for us and I hope it's been reciprocal for them. You have to build relationships and we have done over the last three and a half years and the proof is in the pudding with how we've developed players so I think there's a lot of trust there.”