Breaking: Cobblers land West Ham United defender in loan deal

Naturally left-footed, the 21-year-old, a central defender who can also play at left-back, was confirmed as Northampton’s 12th summer addition – and second on loan after Jordan Thorniley – on Friday afternoon, and he has very recent experience of playing at Sixfields having started for West Ham Under-21s in Tuesday’s pre-season friendly.

Standing at 6ft 2in, the Northern Ireland international arrives at Cobblers following a successful youth career with the Premier League Hammers, including a spell as captain of their under-18s side, and he also played seven times for Bristol Rovers last season before injury cut his loan spell short.

Forbes has represented Northern Ireland at under-16, under-18, under-19, under-21 and full level, making his senior debut in a Euro 2024 qualifier against Finland in November 2023. He was a regular in the West Ham Under-21s squad, captaining the side on numerous occasions, and made his first senior squad for the Hammers for the UEFA Europa Conference League win over FCSB in the 2022/23 season.