Former Cobbler Watson departs Tranmere for another League Two club

Former Cobblers midfielder Ryan Watson has left Tranmere Rovers and signed for League Two rivals Salford City on an 18-month deal.

The 28-year-old, who was Northampton's Player of the Year last season, returned to his boyhood club in the summer after rejecting a new contact offer to stay at Sixfields.

However, Watson has struggled for regular game-time with Tranmere this season, starting just six league matches, although he did score last time out.

He will now team up with fellow ex-Cobbler Jordan Turnbull at Salford after moving for an undisclosed fee. The Ammies are due at Sixfields in a couple of weeks.

“When I found out the interest was there from Salford it was something that I wanted to explore and I’m happy to be here," said Watson. "The club’s obviously going in the right direction and it’s something that I was excited to be a part of, so that’s why I came.

“I feel like I need to play a bit more so it was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down. I spoke to the manager and everything seems good and positive, I scored last weekend so hopefully I can score a few more.

“I spoke to him in the summer, I’ve spoke to him a bit in the past and he knows me as a player and I feel like he knows what’ll be best for me, so yeah like I said it’s something I’m excited about and someone I’m excited to work with.

“There’s a lot of games to be played and we’re definitely in a position where we can push for play-offs or automatics. I know a few of the boys here and the squad that we’ve got here is strong so I don’t see why it can’t be a successful season.”

Salford boss Gary Bowyer added: “We’re delighted that we’ve managed to get Ryan in, he adds to the midfield and we know all about him going forward and scoring goals. He scored against us in the Papa John’s Trophy earlier this year and he scored last weekend, so we know what he’ll bring and we’re delighted that he’s in the building.”

In other ex-Cobbler news, Ash Taylor has moved back to Scotland with Kilmarnock after mutually terminating his Walsall contract.