New signing Thorniley 'very grateful' for Cobblers opportunity after 'frustrating' spell with Oxford United

The 28-year-old, a left-footed centre-half, played for Sheffield Wednesday and Blackpool earlier in his career before moving to Oxford in 2023, but he made just 28 appearances across the last two years, only eight of which were in the league.

With Oxford now established in the Championship, Thorniley knew his game-time would be limited again next season so spent much of the summer exploring his options, and on Thursday he agreed to join Cobblers on a season-long loan.

"The last two seasons have been frustrating for myself,” he admitted. “The lads in the team at Oxford have been unbelievable so I’ve got no complaints about it and that’s just football sometimes, but I’m very grateful to Northampton for giving me this opportunity. I need to play games and kick-start my career again and this is a chance to do that.”

Thorniley’s relationship with Colin Calderwood was a key factor in the move, the defender explaining: "I know Colin quite well from my Blackpool days and he spoke about the vision for the club with the gaffer and I was really excited by the idea of it.

"Col’s just a really good bloke and I got on well with him. I wasn’t in the team when he came in at Blackpool but he was a good coach around the place and he helped me a lot back then. He gives you an arm around the shoulder at the right times but also a kick up the backside when needed.”

Thorniley, who says he can ‘play anywhere on the left side’ of defence, either in a three or a four, and that he hopes to bring good qualities both on and off the ball, will not be able to meet his new team-mates until next week due to the fact Town are currently in Spain.

He said: "It is a bit weird not being around my team-mates but I’ll see them when we train on Monday and I’m looking forward to meeting them and I can’t wait to get going. No player enjoys pre-season but hopefully I can bed myself in quickly and hit the ground running.”