Midfielder, Marc Leonard has signed a new two-year contract at Brighton and rejoined Northampton Town on loan for this season.
Leonard spent last season on loan at Northampton where he scored one goal in 45 appearances as the Cobblers won promotion from League Two to League One.
His performances however has persuaded Brighton to tie the 21 year-old down to a new two-year contract until June 2025, with a club option for a further year.
Brighton however decided to loan him out to Northampton for a second consecutive season, with Technical Director, David Weir praising Leonard for how he was able to “adapt well to a first team environment.”
Weir also offered advice on how Leonard can continue to grow with view to a future first-team breakthrough at Brighton, as he said: “The next step for him is continuing his development with Northampton, where he can continue to build on what he achieved in the last campaign.”
Northampton Town Manager, Jon Brady meanwhile stated that Leonard’s return shows the trust within the club to develop youngsters, off the back of Fulham’s Kieron Bowie loan move back to the club.
Explaining what it means to have Leonard and Bowie back, Brady commented: “What this move shows, as did the move to bring Kieron Bowie back, is that players value the atmosphere we have created at the club, they value the development work we do with players and they enjoy the environment we have created.
“The fact that two Premier League clubs are willing to send a young player back to us for a second loan spell shows they value and respect the work we do too, the set up we have and the progress the players are making.”
Brady however admitted that he is “delighted” that Leonard wanted to return amidst “a huge amount of interest” from rival clubs this summer.
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