THE Cobblers are preparing themselves for a bidding war after Michael Jacobs confirmed he will not be accepting the new contract the club has offered him.
The 20-year-old, who has been crowned player of the year at Sixfields in both of his seasons of senior football, informed Aidy Boothroyd he will not be returning for pre-season training.
Derby County are the favourites to sign Jacobs, who has been with Northampton since he was 10 years old and risen through the ranks to become a key first-team player, but no deal has been agreed with the Rams at this stage.
The saga can now only be resolved in one of two ways – either by a club agreeing a fee directly with the Town board or by signing the player anyway and taking their chances at a tribunal.
The latter option is one Northampton would prefer, to avoid losing the player for a fee below their valuation, which is in excess of the current club record of £525,000 paid by Blackburn Rovers for Mark Bunn in August 2008.
It is believed Derby would rather get the deal done between the two clubs, too, as they could be legally bound to pay a fee they did feel was a fair reflection of the player’s ability.
A number of other clubs have expressed an interest in taking Jacobs, and although formal bids have been thin on the ground to date, they could increase in light of this week’s developments.
At least one Premier League club and one npower Championship club are understood to be monitoring the situation and have informally expressed an interest in Jacobs.
Going to tribunal would represent something of a journey into the unknown for all parties; the rough guideline for a player with Jacobs’ background is said to be in the region of £750,000 but it could fluctuate wildly in either direction in practice.
Crewe Alexandra teenager Nick Powell moved to Manchester United for a fee which could amount to £4m this week, and Jacobs could be the next highly-rated young talent to leave league two for a higher level.