BURNLEY finally recouped some of their outlay on central defender Lee Howey when he completed a £50,000 move to Northampton Town.

The deal had been delayed for two weeks following the end of Howey's three-month loan spell at the Sixfields Stadium.

And a move briefly looked to be threatened when Northampton lined up a big-money move for Bristol City striker Steve Torpey.

But the 29-year-old former Sunderland player signed for the Cobblers on a permanent basis in time to make a debut as a full-time Town player at Oldham Athletic today.

"I have been here for three months, had a good look around at the facilities and I have seen what the manager intends to do and I was quite happy to sign," said Howey.

Former Burnley boss Chris Waddle bought Howey for £100,000 before the start of the 1997/98 campaign but a groin injury meant he played just 23 League games under his former Sunderland team-mate.

He started the first four games of this season before Burnley's ill-fated match against York City after which Howey was transfer-listed by Clarets boss Stan Ternent along with Steve Blatherwick, Mark Winstanley and Michael Williams.

However, another former Sunderland player, Northampton boss Ian Atkins, stepped in to hand Howey the chance to get his career back on track after things turned sour at Turf Moor. And Atkins is delighted to get a player he had been tracking for some time.

Howey has since weighed in with three goals in 11 games - including Northampton's last strike on January 9 - but the relegation-threatened Cobblers will be looking to him to help tighten things up at the back in their bid to climb out of the bottom four.

"I see myself better as a centre-half, although I have always been told I can do a job as a centre forward and I have scored a few goals.

"But I am happy to play anywhere. As long as I can play on a Saturday I am happy," he added.

Howey's move also sees him link up with former Turf Moor team-mate Damian Matthew who joined the Cobblers under the Bosman ruling last summer but has made just a handful of appearances so far because of a back injury.

Ternent will be glad that the protracted transfer saga has been completed, even if Burnley are thought to be a bit miffed that Northampton dragged their feet and allowed two weeks to elapse after Howey's loan deal ended.

The Burnley boss believes his squad still lacks strength in depth but Howey was never going to figure in his plans again. And the Clarets are well covered in the central defensive department with Chris Brass, Peter Swan and Matty Heywood all capable of filling the void left if Brian Reid failed a fitness check before Burnley's game at Wycombe today. The trio will also be vying to replace the suspended Steve Davis at home to Gillingham next weekend.

However, Burnley are short in midfield because of the absence of Micky Mellon, Mark Robertson and Glen Little and the fact that Mark Ford would appear to be out of the manager's plans.

Former Clarets boss Chriss Waddle has been linked with a return to playing action with Boston United of the Dr Martens Premier League on a match-by-match basis.

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