The 21-year-old has signed a new deal with Premier League club Brighton, with the Seagulls opting to send him out on loan again to aid his development. He is ‘highly regarded’ in Sussex, and Charlton, Fleetwood and Carlisle United were all said to have joined the race, but newly promoted Northampton look to have beaten everyone else to his signature. It is reported by the Daily Record that several League One rivals were also ‘keen’ but that Northampton hope to beat them to the punch.

He made 47 appearances for Northampton last year in all competitions, registering one goal and one assist. Leonard was linked with a move to the Memorial Stadium back in January, but manager Jon Brady dismissed the rumours, and the Scotland Under-21 international ended up playing a part in their promotion from League Two.

Rovers had only ever had transfer links to Leonard, and there was nothing substantial in them to suggest that he was a priority target for them. Joey Barton has a fle xible approach to the transfer market and his  clrecruitment team has a long list of names in which they will work on to see if they are a right fit for the footballub.

Midfield is an area that could do with strengthening given that Jordan Rossiter is still recovering from a damaged meniscus injury he sustained back in December. Josh Grant is on the mend after missing the whole of last season but will be eased back into things. Rovers do have Grant Ward and Sam Finley as starting midfielders, but have had to look to academy graduates Kofi Shaw and Jerry Lawrence for cover in pre-season whilst Antony Evans has been made to play a deeper role.