Trialists handed chance to impress Cobblers in pre-season

Assistant boss Colin West says trialists Curtis Yebli and Nathan Tyson have been handed the opportunity to 'showcase their ability' to the Cobblers after they were surprise starters against Northampton Sileby Rangers on Saturday.
Midfielder Curtis Yebli played the first 45 minutes for the Cobblers at Fernie Fields. Picture: Pete NortonMidfielder Curtis Yebli played the first 45 minutes for the Cobblers at Fernie Fields. Picture: Pete Norton
Midfielder Curtis Yebli played the first 45 minutes for the Cobblers at Fernie Fields. Picture: Pete Norton

Tyson and Yebli played the opening 45 minutes at Fernie Fields as Town kicked off their pre-season campaign with a comfortable 7-0 victory over the United Counties League outfit.

Veteran forward Tyson, now 37, has played for 13 different clubs during his 20-year career and most recently turned out for Wycombe Wanderers in League One last season, scoring once in 19 appearances.

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Yebli, meanwhile, is a little more of an unknown quantity. The 22-year-old French midfielder, who has never previously played in England, started out at Nancy B before spells at Italian sides Bari and Arezzo.

Last summer he moved to FC Arsenal Kyiv, who play in the Ukrainian second tier, but now finds himself looking for a new club and that could well be the Cobblers after Keith Curle picked him up on trial.

Playing alongside Chris Lines in central midfield, Yebli showed some neat touches against Sileby while Tyson was a little quieter on the left of a front three.

Speaking about the two trialists afterwards, West did not rule out the possibility of signing either player but for now it's purely about seeing what they could potentially offer the Cobblers, who have already made 11 signings this summer.

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"It's not a case of signing people," said Curle's assistant. "It's just letting them showing their ability and letting them see if they could be a good fit for us.

"They might be a good fit for us, they might not be but it's an opportunity for them to showcase their ability to us."

Several players were not involved at all against Sileby on Saturday, most notably new signings Charlie Goode, Ryan Watson and Alan McCormack, but all three, plus Jordan Turnbull and Scott Pollock, are expected to fly out to Spain this evening.

"There's just a few little strains," said West. "We don't want to put them into a game where it could get worse and that's the same with a few players.

"Ryan Watson is the same. He has a little thigh situation at the moment but it's nothing major, it's just about going about it in the right way and not making it worse."

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