Northampton Town have announced the signing of midfielder Liam Shaw from Fleetwood Town.
The 23-year-old has joined the Cobblers for an undisclosed fee and signed a two-and-a-half year contract with the League One club.
The move makes Shaw Northampton’s first signing of the newly opened January transfer window and their first under new manager Kevin Nolan.
Shaw had begun his career with Sheffield Wednesday, making 24 competitive appearances for the Owls before joining Celtic in 2021. However, Shaw struggled for game time with the Scottish giants, making just two first team appearances for the Glasgow-based club spending time out on loan with Motherwell, Morecambe and Wigan Athletic.
The midfielder joined Fleetwood at the start of the current season, making 14 appearances for the Cod Army before the deal to bring him to Sixfields.
Nolan voiced his delight to the official Northampton Town website that Shaw was a player he was pleased to bring to the club.
He said, “Liam was one of our top targets and we are delighted to welcome him to the club.
“He was on the radar of the recruitment team here already and that aligned with my own thoughts as he is a player I have always regarded very highly.
“He is someone who I think can come in and make us better. He is a box to box midfielder, he likes to get involved and he is good on the ball too. He has all the qualities you look for in a good central midfielder and on top of that he comes with a good pedigree and is a good age.
“I would like to thank the Board of Directors and everyone involved for allowing us to move quickly to get this deal done, and I am really pleased to welcome Liam to the club.”
Sonny Finch has left MK Dons after the teenager’s season long loan at Stadium MK was ended by parent club Middlesbrough.
The 19-year-old had joined the Dons on a season long loan on transfer deadline day in August, as part of a triple move that also saw the club sign Joe White and Kane Thompson-Sommers.
But Finch has found game time hard to come by with the League 2 side. In all, Finch made just seven appearances in all competitions for the club, scoring once in a 5-1 win in League Two at Harrogate in October.
Finch hadn’t featured for the Dons since playing 64 minutes in an EFL Trophy match against the Arsenal under-21s in October, with his last league appearance having been as a substitute against Tranmere the preceding weekend.
Middlesbrough announced the decision on the same day that they recalled defender Terrell Agyemang, who the Championship club had sent out on loan to Scottish Championship side Airdrieonians.
Police have released CCTV images of two men officers would like to speak to following a burglary in Milton Keynes.
The incident occurred at around 4.10pm on Sunday 24 November 2024 at Captain Ridley’s Shooting Party at Wetherspoons, in Queensway in the Bletchley area of the city.
Two offenders entered the pub, where they took mobile phones and other electronic items, along with cash from the premises, before leaving the premises.
Thames Valley Police released the images as part of their appeal into the incident.
Investigating officer, PC Matthew Gillett, said, “I am appealing to anyone who recognises the men pictured as they may have vital information to assist us with our enquiries.
“If this is you, please come forward as soon as possible.
“If you have any information relating to this incident, please call 101 or report it online, quoting 43240568957.
“Alternatively, if you wish to remain anonymous, you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or via its website.”
Milton Keynes City Council have confirmed some roads and most bus stops closed by a fire at MK Market last month have re-opened.
Roads in parallel to the centre:mk shopping centre had been closed following a fire in a stall at Milton Keynes Market on December 10th 2024.
While the market stalls had re-opened, roads were closed in order to allow for checks to be made on whether they were safe to re-open.
The update issued by the City Council has said that bus routes on Lower Ninth Street and Midsummer Boulevard have been mostly re-opened, while assessment is still being carried out on Secklow Bridge that passes directly over the market.
The update read, “Following a fire on 10 December 2024 at MK Market, bus routes on Lower Ninth Street and Midsummer Boulevard are running again, with all stops reopen apart from B4-E4 (westbound) in the Theatre District as work still continues. The taxi rank on Midsummer Boulevard is now open as normal.
“We’re still carrying out safety works in the area to determine the extent of repairs needed to Secklow Bridge and other infrastructure.
“The majority of the stalls at MK Market have reopened. We’d like to thank everyone who has supported the stallholders over the festive period and encourage you to continue this in 2025.”
Northampton Town played out a 0-0 draw with Stevenage in their first home game managed by Kevin Nolan.
A stalemate between two sides promoted together in 2023 saw neither side show the quality required to steal the points, as the Cobblers continue to wait for their sixth league win of the season, with the side also dealt a blow after captain Jon Guthrie was stretchered off with an injury.
A point means Northampton sit 3 points ahead of the relegation zone after 24 games of the season, with Nolan’s side sat 19th in the table. The Cobblers have however failed to win any of their last five outings.
After starting his tenure as Northampton boss with two away games, Nolan took charge of a game at Sixfields for the first time in the Cobblers’ first contest of 2025.
Despite their injury list remaining lengthy, with top scorer Cameron McGeehan joining the absences, Northampton did make a bright enough start against Stevenage, with TJ Eyoma having a header kept out by away goalkeeper Murphy Cooper and Will Hondermarck seeing a strike shave the post on the way out.
Guthrie and Tom Eaves both saw attempts repelled by Cooper in the visiting goal, before the host’s momentum dipped as skipper Guthrie suffered an injury following an awkward fall. He would require on-pitch treatment before being stretchered off.
This lead to 8 minutes of stoppage time, during which Stevenage had their first real chance of the half when Jordan Roberts sent a strike wide.
Half time Cobblers sub Tarique Fosu would come close after the break, with the winger seeing a strike curl its way narrowly wide of the mark.
The hosts however would struggle for chance creation after half-time, and Stevenage had the best chances when Nik Tzanev denied Jamie Reid and Roberts before Dan Philips missed the target with an effort.
Ultimately, the contest fizzled out with neither side really coming close to a late winner, ensuring just a point for Northampton in their first assignment of the new year.
Northampton will seek to return winning ways in their first away outing of 2025 on Saturday, when they travel to play bottom side Burton Albion at the Pirelli Stadium.
