Northampton Town must tie down Kevin Nolan success story ahead of the summer | OneFootball

Homegrown talent has broken into the first-team but is out of contract soon.

Max Dyche has found a new lease of life at Northampton Town after returning from a spell out on loan in January.

He spent the first half of the season on loan at Woking but was recalled last month before forging a route into the first team.

Last summer the 21-year-old’s future at the club looked bleak when he was loaned back out to the National League side by former manager Jon Brady, but he has now played over an hour in each of Cobblers’ last three games under new boss Kevin Nolan and impressed.

The homegrown defender signed a two-year contract at Northampton in June 2023, meaning he is out of contract in the coming months.

Max Dyche has grasped his Northampton opportunity

The youngster had been on the fringes at Sixfields for many years since making his first-team debut back in 2021, but never made a significant breakthrough into the first-team fold.

However, since being recalled by Nolan in January, Dyche has seen an increase in first-team minutes, first making cameos late on as a target man before being afforded time in his natural position after injuries to Jon Guthrie, Jack Baldwin and Aaron McGowan. Still, his performances will give Nolan a headache if and when these players return.

He played particularly well at Mansfield on Friday evening, where the Cobblers’ backline had to deal with late pressure to ensure a fourth clean sheet in seven games and an important 1-0 victory.

Dyche, son of former Town defender Sean, played so well he earned unprompted praise from his manager, Nolan, as well as match-winner Cameron McGeehan after the game.

Nolan told the Northampton Chronicle & Echo: "I must say that I thought Max Dyche was excellent again."

“He was unfortunate not to stay in the team after the Bolton game when we went back to our original three but he has an excellent attitude and he came back in and played really well.

"He headed everything and he made blocks, as did Jordan (Willis) and AK (Akin Odimayo), but I wanted to mention Dychey. He's getting his chance now and he's taking it.

"We've got a lot of competition. Tyler Magloire is on the bench and he's itching to play more minutes. We lost Aaron McGowan and TJ but Jack Baldwin came on and we're trying to build his minutes.

"But Max has come back from his loan spell and I wanted to get eyes on him. He's been fantastic in training and he's done brilliant for us when he's been given his opportunity.”

McGeehan added: "Shout out to Dychey. He's only a young lad and I didn't know much about him before he came back from his loan but his attitude is unbelievable.

"Every time he plays he gives everything and it's a pleasure to play with him. He was massive tonight and the boys at the back all did a great job, which is what you need away from home. A clean sheet was what we spoke about before the game, because we always fancy ourselves to score, and we kept them out and it was a really strong team performance.”

Northampton should open talks to tie Max Dyche down to new deal

The 21-year-old certainly won’t be short of suitors should he become available this summer and even though Cobblers would be entitled to compensation should he leave, they must look to tie down the young talent to a new deal.

In recent weeks and especially against Mansfield Town last Friday night, Dyche has proven he has the potential to be a good defender at League One level and even beyond, so Nolan and new Cobblers technical director Colin Calderwood must act to secure the future of the homegrown talent.

Last year, fellow League One clubs, Peterborough United and Wigan Athletic sold centre-backs Ronnie Edwards and Charlie Hughes to Southampton and Hull City respectively, for fees believed to be in excess of £3 million and £4 million each.

Should Dyche sign a multi-year deal, Northampton would ensure they reap the financial rewards should he continue his development and become a star at the level as well as secure his services for the foreseeable future.

For these reasons, Cobblers, Nolan and Calderwood must open talks with the 21-year-old regarding a multi-year contract extension as they begin to plan for next season.