Jon Brady signs another ex-Cobbler - and likens current Vale squad to his Sixfields promotion-winners

The 24-year-old scored three goals in 40 games for Brady’s Northampton during the 2023/24 League One season. He then had two years at Stevenage before being released at the end of last season.

Simpson has now signed a one-year deal with Vale, joining fellow former Northampton Town player Aaron McGowan, who teamed up with Brady last week. "My career went a big stagnant for whatever reason but I feel I'm in a much better place mentally, physically and I'm ready to go,” said Simpson.

Speaking in a recent interview, Brady compared Vale’s current squad with his promotion-winning Cobblers team, saying: “We went to Spain for a week and I felt the group connected really well. Forget ability wise, I would say, right now, I haven’t had a group that are starting to connect like this since my second year at Northampton. It’s a really good feeling at the moment.

“We brought in Martin Foyle as chief scout earlier in the summer. I had very limited resources at Northampton but the players Martin was able to acquire and the deals he was able to get done were exceptional and 80 per cent of that group stayed together for nearly four years and achieved a lot. He knows the profile of players I want.”