Goalkeeper Mitchell to lock horns with Cobblers again after joining League Two rivals

Former Cobblers goalkeeper Jonathan Mitchell is set to come up against his old club in a few weeks' time after joining Hartlepool United on the eve of the new League Two season.

The 26-year-old endured a difficult, error-strewn season on loan at Sixfields in 2020/21 and was released by parent club Derby County at the end of the campaign.

Mitchell had looked set to start the new season without a club but he's returned to the place of his birth just in time.

"It's brilliant to get it all sorted and get it done before the first game of the weekend," said Mitchell.

"Getting back up north, back up home was a massive attraction and obviously watching on as a fan last year was always something that I looked at and you wanted to be a part of.

"I've been in a couple of days training but there seems to be a really good atmosphere around the place, a feel good vibe and it's something I really want to be a part of and can't wait to get started."

Pools manager Dave Challinor added: "It was obviously a position we needed to fill. We were up and down a little bit in terms of what the profile was of the person we needed to bring in but to be able to bring in someone who played a full season in League One last year, albeit in a side that didn't do as well as what they'd hoped.

"His experience will be really good when you add to that he's a Hartlepool lad and knows what the club's about and knows what the supporters are about.

"I think his transition into the squad and the football club will hopefully be seemless."