Cobblers boss Page close to '˜finalising' deals to bring in new players in January window

The Town manager feels the squad in place is good enough to hold its own in Sky Bet League One, but he is keen to freshen up his squad next month in a bid to challenge at the top end of the table.

The squad has looked a little light in recent weeks, with injuries to JJ Hooper, Brendan Moloney and Zander Diamond, as well as a suspension to John-Joe O’Toole, limiting options for Page, who signed 13 players in the summer - three of them on loan deals.

The manager is keen to strengthen certain areas, and also add a different dimension to certain positions, and he is set to be active again in the transfer window.

“The window opens in January, and with the squad we have at the minute I think we are capable of doing okay in this division,” said Page, who has endured a difficult week following his team’s FA Cup defeat at non-League Stourbridge on Tuesday night.

“There are potential targets that we have looked at, and we are close to finalising a couple, and that’s what we need to do in January.

“We need to strengthen and add to the squad, to bring the quality in to help us get to that next level in the second half of the season.”

Page enjoyed a busy summer after he took over the Cobblers hot seat from Chris Wilder, signing 10 players on permanent deals, and Hooper, Lewin Nyatanga and Kenji Gorre on loan.

Of the 13 signed by Page, several have yet to really make their mark at Sixfields, with the likes of Emmanuel Sonupe, Raheem Hanley, Harry Beautyman and Kenji Gorre currently out of favour, while it has already been confirmed Hooper is returning to Port Vale at the end of his loan deal in January.

As well as Page keen to freshen things up by bringing players in, it could well be that squad members that have been starved of game time might be looking to move on, so there could be plenty of activity in and out of Sixfields in the new year.