BREAKING: Cobblers bolster their defensive ranks as centre-back heads down from Scotland

Cobblers have strengthened their defensive ranks with the addition of centre-back Jon Guthrie following his departure from Livingston.

The 28-year-old did have the option to remain with the SPL club but asked to be placed on the transfer list at the end of the season for family reasons.

After much speculation, and despite interest from elsewhere, he has penned a two-year deal with the Cobblers and is the fourth man to move from Scotland to Sixfields this summer, following Nicke Kabamba, Mitch Pinnock and Dylan Connolly.

The 6ft 3in central defender began his career at Crewe Alexandra, making 122 appearances in a five-year stay at Gresty Road before joining Walsall in 2017.

In two years at the Bescot Stadium, Guthrie played 88 games and scored three times, before he made the move to Scotland to join Livingston in 2019.

He scored ten times in 76 appearances in a successful time north of the border that saw him win three Player of the Year awards in 2020 and come in the top three of the 2021 vote.

He also captained the side on a number of occasions as he helped Livi to finish fifth and sixth in the SPL in his two seasons at the club.

Guthrie has now has joined the Cobblers squad for pre-season training having decided to return to England. He is only the second senior centre-back currently at Northampton alongside Fraser Horsfall and becomes the club's seventh signing of the summer.