Boothroyd eyeing goalkeeper

Northampton manager Aidy Boothroyd has made signing a goalkeeper his top priority this summer.

Boothroyd had hoped to persuade Lee Nicholls to return to Sixfields for the 2013/14 campaign following the Wigan youngster's impressive loan spell with the Cobblers last season. But Northampton's failure to win promotion combined with the Latcis' relegation to the Championship has led Boothroyd to believe that Nicholls, 20, will now be pushing for first-team football at the DW Stadium. The Cobblers boss has therefore turned his attention elsewhere and he has a particular target in mind. "We definitely need to bring in a goalkeeper," Boothroyd told the club's official website. "I have already made a few enquiries and I know the player that I want. "I think had we gone up we would have had a much better chance of Lee Nicholls coming back here but I think the way that he has performed and the fact that Wigan have gone down he will be fighting for a first-team place there next season. "I know he wants to play and you can never say never but I've gone down another avenue because I'm certainly expecting him to be at Wigan next season." Boothroyd added: "We also need either one or two wide players and another front player. It's certainly the creative and goalscoring side that we need to improve. "I'd like to sign players permanently rather than on loan and what I've found is that the majority of players who have come here on loan have got more out of us than we've got from them. "There are exceptions like Lee Nicholls, who was outstanding, but they are few and far between. I think the loan market is for stop gaps and the more permanent signings we can get the better."