It could be forgiven if Marc Leonard has passed under your radar. But around Sixfields, he is the radar.

When Marc first arrived at Northampton (July 2022) he was encouraged to implement himself as the main man in midfield. The linchpin or ‘regista’ in a system where you experience what it's like to be the architect in a team, week in and week out. He definitely did that last season in League 2 although I’m sure he would admit, it’s hard coming up against League 2 level opponents when you’re a player with his ability.

It is a physical test at times, but a test he passed, posting metrics that rank him as one of the best midfielders in terms of tackles and interceptions across the whole league, as Northampton achieved promotion with Marc’s involvement to the fore. Inevitably other clubs were interested in taking him on loan the following season and I believe he thought very hard about it, but ultimately being able to further develop your ability to lead a team from central midfield is invaluable and wouldn’t be guaranteed if he’d have opted for another system in a different team.

Northampton manager Jon Brady spent most of summer 2023 tapping him up and reminding him he was welcome back, and his persistence paid off as Marc was one of the last players through the door in the transfer window, seamlessly slotting back into his position with a few new weapons to aim for and a higher level of opposition to sharpen his skills against.

Having played every minute between August and December of Northampton’s league campaign, his stats for passes are in the top percentiles. I already feel he’s playing at a level above the rest of our squad and could easily make the step up. His speed of thought and vision is at a level we’ve frankly not seen before at Sixfields. The closest player I can compare to him would be Matt Grimes, who we had on loan a few years ago. Grimes is now the linchpin in a possession orientated Swansea team, the willingness to be on the ball and progress play is rare as you move further down the leagues and the ability to do all of that effectively is even rarer.

I think anyone that’s seen him at Sixfields can instantly tell he has the technical ability to go much higher in the game, but It’s been a joy to watch the other areas of his game develop and flourish. Something that we often see Premier League loanees struggle with at our level.

At the very least, I would say he has a top Championship to Premier League career ahead of him. But when you look at his stats amongst experienced professionals in the league, and at just 22 years of age in an up and coming Northampton side, there’s no reason he can’t significantly kick on and challenge for a starting spot in a top half Premier League side. Regardless, his future looks brighter than the dim lights of Sixfields and we’re just enjoying his performances for now, already preparing our glowing reviews of him for our ‘we had him when…’ moments.

Brendan Walsh @TheShoeArmy1897

This article was originally published in Dogma Issue 11, February 2024 and has been amended slightly for publication here.