Dave Challinor was proved correct on former Northampton Town defender signed by Stockport County | OneFootball

The manager clearly knew the player he was getting at Edgeley Park

Stockport County have made some top-draw signings in recent years, but few have become as instrumental as defender Fraser Horsfall.

Backed by manager Dave Challinor to go on to become a Championship-level defender, Horsfall quickly struck up a strong bond with young centre-back Ethan Pye — the pair then becoming County’s go-to defensive partnership.

When Horsfall misses a Hatters game — which is extremely rare — the impact is felt, as his mix of defensive solidity, comfort in possession and leadership from the back is difficult to replace.

Almost everything Challinor said about Horsfall when the defender arrived proved true, but there is one element of his game that County fans are still waiting to see.

Horsfall got some stick when he transferred to County

The 27-year-old left Northampton Town — who had just missed out on promotion from League Two in the play-offs — on a free transfer to join a County side that had just been promoted from the National League.

He wasn’t the first player to ‘drop’ from a team viewed as higher in the pyramid, following transfers of the likes of Paddy Madden and Antoni Sarcevic, who had dropped divisions to turn up at Edgeley Park.

Many felt, following previous heavy investment by new County owner Mark Stott, that money may have motivated Horsfall’s move, which came with a likely lucrative three-year deal.

His former Cobblers team-mates made those feelings known, posting comments like, ‘All th£ b€$t mate’ and ‘Lov£ it Fra$er’, underneath an Instagram post of the defender not long after his move.

Challinor was proved right in his Horsfall assessment

When Horsfall signed for County, Challinor was not short of praise for his new acquisition, noting that he’d been tracking the defender for a long while.

Speaking to club media for his transfer announcement, Challinor said: “Fraser is a player I’ve tracked for a long time, since his time at Huddersfield, through loan and permanent moves to Kidderminster and Macclesfield and onto Northampton, but to get him now after the season he has just had and the options he had to weigh up is a huge coup for us.

“I believe we can give him the platform to show the side of his game that I first noticed when he came onto the scene, something that he’s maybe not been required to show over the last few years. Not only is he undoubtedly a fantastic defender, but he is very comfortable in possession of the football and we believe that he can develop into a Championship defender as a minimum with his drive and determination.”

Challinor is keen for his defenders to have the ability to also play football and contribute to build-up play.

It was something Horsfall was noted for by Challinor, and was likely a key driver to signing him from Northampton.

His opinion has been proven correct over the course of Horsfall’s initial term, with County fans seeing him and Pye effortlessly holding onto possession when pressed before passing out to the wings or into midfield.

Rarely will Horsfall or Pye punt the ball aimlessly upfield, because they have enough quality on the ball to be more productive with possession.

It helps that he is also a great defender, both in ground duels and in the air, and although the captaincy was handed to new signing Lewis Bate when former captain Paddy Madden left, it is clear to see that Horsfall is the key man marshalling the backline throughout games.

There’s just one element that County fans are still waiting to see in full

Challinor did also make another point with regards to Horsfall when he first signed, that he can be a threat at the other end of the pitch, particularly from set pieces.

“Over the past couple of seasons he’s established himself as statistically the most dominant defender in League 2, has excellent leadership qualities and is a threat in both boxes with nine goals himself last season,” the manager said.

It was indeed true that Horsfall had notched nine goals in his final season with Northampton, a figure that would be a decent haul for a forward, never mind a defender, so Challinor and County fans alike were expecting the reincarnation of Ash Palmer, a former County player who was lethal in attacking set pieces.

Horsfall, however, has not yet shown that side of his game as much as he did with Northampton. In 100 appearances, he scored 12 goals for the Cobblers, whereas he notched just five in a similar amount of outings for the Hatters.

Goals were not the key motivator behind Horsfall’s signing, but seeing him add that goalscoring record to his game at County would be an added bonus.

Nevertheless, despite not transporting that element of his game to Edgeley Park, everything else Challinor expected of Horsfall has been delivered in spades by the defender.