Jon Brady 'humbled' after revealing it was Leonard himself who pushed for return to Cobblers

Jon Brady says he was ‘humbled’ by the way Marc Leonard pushed for his return to the Cobblers despite having interest from other clubs in League One and even some in the Championship.

The talented 21-year-old had an excellent campaign at Sixfields as Town won promotion from League Two in 2022/23, and he enjoyed himself so much that he was keen to return on loan from parent club Brighton this summer.

His impressive performances in midfield caught the eye of numerous other clubs but Brady and Northampton were rewarded for their hard work and patience when Leonard rejoined on a season-long loan on Saturday, although the player himself ultimately had the decisive say.

"We're very happy to have Marc back,” said Brady. “Everyone at the football club has worked very hard during the summer to get it done.

"I said pretty much straight after last season finished that we would have to do a lot of work to get there and wow, have we done a lot of work to get to this point.

"But in the end it was motivated by Marc himself because he wanted to come so much and we're really grateful to have him here again. It's humbling for us given the standard of player he is. He wanted to come here and he wanted to be here and it's great news all round to have him back.”

Leonard’s desire to spend another season at Northampton, coupled with Kieron Bowie also returning on loan from a Premier League club, reflects well on Brady and his coaching staff.

"First and foremost I think it comes down to the connection with the players that we feel we have,” Brady added. “Then thereafter Marc is obviously a very good player and we have a lot of really good players at the club.

"We feel we can help him with his development but he's good enough to know the game inside and out himself and develop his own game. We just offer a little bit of guidance and a little bit of help, but we're just grateful to both Brighton and Marc that he wants to be here so much and there's a good connection.”

Leonard has also signed a new deal until 2025 at parent club Brighton, with Seagulls technical director David Weir saying: “Marc had an excellent loan last season and showed that he can adapt well to a first-team environment.

“The next step for him is continuing his development with Northampton, where he can continue to build on what he achieved in the last campaign.”