Wilder keen to extend Martin loan spell at Cobblers

Martin signed an initial one-month loan agreement on January 15, but Wilder is keen for the former Manchester United man to stay longer.

If Martin is to stay with the Cobblers until the end of the season, then that deal must be agreed and signed before Monday’s 11pm deadline for the January transfer window.

If no deal is done before the deadline, then it would have to be a case of renewing the loan on a month-by-month basis, with Martin limited to a three-month, or 93-day, stay.

That means he would not be able to play for Northampton beyond the Sky Bet League Two clash at Exeter City on April 16, seeing him miss the final four fixtures of the regular season

Martin has impressed in his two appearances to date for the Cobblers, in the 2-1 win at Dagenham and the 3-1 Sixfields victory over Morecambe, and Wilder wants him to stay at the club if a deal can be sorted.

The Town boss is always keen to get players in on long-term loans rather than short-term deals, and that is the case with Martin.

“We are always talking, and I should imagine if you talk to Lee he will have really enjoyed his first two games he has been involved in,” said the Cobblers boss.

“It was really difficult in the first one because it was a tough old game, but I saw, and I think everybody saw, what he produced against Morecambe and how he fits in with the way we play.

“There is still a couple of days (of the transfer window) to go so there are ongoing talks.

“But if he is just here for the month, then hopefully we will get the maximum out of that, and if it is a bit longer then I think that benefits all of us.

“It is one thing we are definitely looking at.”