Curle to make a decision on trialists

Keith Curle will make a decision on whether or not to pursue a deal for any of Town's four trialists later this week.

Forward Antonio German, who made a handful of loan appearances for the Cobblers in 2014, played 80 minutes of Saturday's pre-season friendly victory over Leyton Orient.

Young defender Connor Johnson, who started his career in Northampton's academy and has captained Wolves U23s, looked composed in his 30-minute showing while Ricky Korboa and Samir Carruthers were only given a short time on the pitch.

Cobblers are set to play a practice match on Tuesday before hosting Luton Town in their second pre-season friendly at the weekend.

"I thought it was good to get some minutes into the players and it was good to get a look at the trialists in a competitive game," said Curle. "They've shown up well in training but it's important we get them into our way of thinking.

"Antonio has only been with us for two days due to the COVID testing but him, Connor and Ricky have all shown up well and fitted into the group.

"Now it's about them showcasing what they're about. We're going to invite them back to be involved in the game on Tuesday and then I'll make a decision."

Town's defensive options look far healthier following the arrivals of Cian Bolger and Luka Racic on Friday, but the same cannot be said at the other end of the pitch.

Harry Smith is the only senior, natural striker on the club's books and he missed Saturday's game due to a back complaint.

"We're not rebuilding, we're just adding to what we've got in the building and there will be more additions," added Curle.

"We're still working, we're still looking and we're speaking to a couple of players - but the fit has got to be right and that's not just for the player, it's for the football club and for me and the team."

Racic was the only summer recruit not to feature on Saturday as Sam Hoskins scored the only goal of a competitive game.

Curle continued: "We made a lot of changes in the second-half and that was always going to impact the flow of the game but the tempo was how we wanted it to be and it's important that the players who come on quickly pick up what we're trying to work on and what we're trying to improve on.

"The new players are picking up our way of thinking because they're coming into a different format and a different style of play but they've been very attentive and they've taken onboard information.

"They want to work, they want to learn and they want to listen, which is important, and they're also good players."