Ben Hammondplaceholder image
Ben Hammond
Kevin Nolan believes the signings of Kyle McAdam and Ben Hammond represent ‘coups’ for the club – both for the immediate future and the long-term – after Cobblers ensured they had the ‘first option’ to potentially buy them in the summer.
The pair of 21-year-olds have arrived at Sixfields on loan for the rest of the season from Nottingham Forest, a club Nolan has strong links to given the fact he lives in the town and his son currently plays in the academy.
Ben Perry, another former Forest midfielder, impressed for Cobblers after joining in a similar deal last January but, in that instance, the club did not have an option to sign him permanently and in the end he moved to Colchester United for a decent fee last summer. He’s missed the vast majority of the current season due to an ACL injury.
Following that experience, Town made sure they will be at the front of the queue should either Hammond or McAdam – or both – impress in the second half of the season.
"They are both coups for us and they are both really good deals for the club, not only for now but also for the long-term because we have first option to sign them in the summer,” explained Nolan. “They are similar to the Ben Perry deal but this time we have the first option on them. Ben obviously went for a bit of money in the end but very few people knew much about him before we took him on loan.
"Kyle and Ben come to us with the bit between their teeth because they want to come in and impress and earn themselves something beyond this season. Being in the Nottingham area, I’ve watched them both a lot and I know what they are all about. They were two players we flagged up early on and we always had our eye on them.
"We know a lot about these boys and we're not taking them just for the sake of it. We're taking them because I believe they can help us both in the immediate future and also the long-term future of the football club.”
Hammond, a defender who can also play in midfield, and McAdam, a versatile left-sided player, played alongside Jack Perkins and Perry in the Forest B team that won the Premier League International Cup last year.
"We're lucky because I have a very good relationship with Forest,” Nolan added. “My boy plays there and he's just received his scholarship and they also have someone I really trust in Warren Joyce.
"He's really valuable in the game and he's had these lads for years, not just for a few months, so you can really go into detail with him and find out what these young lads are all about. Warren's had a lot of success with young players coming through the ranks and we have Kyle and Ben on fantastic deals for the club.”
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