Nottingham Forest were not planning to let Perry leave until 11th hour call from Kevin Nolan

Cobblers thought their business might be done following confirmation of Dara Costelloe’s arrival on loan from Burnley late in the day but Nolan’s decision to make a last-minute phone call to Forest academy coach Andy Reid paid off, with Perry allowed to join Cobblers on loan for the rest of the season an hour before the window closed.

The 20-year-old midfielder, who came through Forest’s academy, has made six appearances in the EFL Trophy over the last two seasons, as well as being a regular in the club’s Premier League 2 side. He currently captains Forest Under-21s and last year signed a new two-year contract.

"Ben’s a very tidy player and he’s a good lad,” said Nolan. “We’ve had really good match reports about him but with me living in Nottingham, I know a bit more about him and you know what you’re getting with Forest.

"He’s been the captain of the under-21s and he’s trained with the first-team. They weren’t looking to get him out, it was me giving Andy Reid a call and we made it happen and I was delighted that we did.

"As soon as Ben heard of the interest, he wanted to come, the same with Dara, and these boys want to come here and play. You can already see in training that they have good quality and hopefully they’ll go up a step in their careers.”

Nolan made the decision to push for Perry after fellow central midfielder Ben Fox was allowed to leave for Harrogate Town on a free transfer earlier on deadline day.

"Foxy got offered an unbelievable deal to go up to Harrogate,” revealed Nolan. “When you look at it, he was in his final six months here and he’s been a fantastic servant for this club.

"As much as I like Foxy and wanted to keep him around, we weren’t sure what would happen at the end of the season and it wouldn’t be fair for him to miss out on the opportunity, especially as he hadn’t been in my two matchday squads.

"It’s a chance for him to go to a really good club and play first-team football and a two-year deal is fantastic for him so we felt we couldn’t stand his way.”