Kevin Wilson becomes player-coach at Northampton Town

Kevin Wilson, the former Northern Ireland striker, has left the post of player-coach at Walsall for a similar job at Northampton.

Steve Sedgley, the Ipswich midfielder, is poised to join Wolves provided Mark Venus agrees to move in the opposite direction, with the East Anglians also receiving pounds 700,000.

Hednesford, of the Vauxhall Conference, have taken their summer signings to seven by signing Walsall's Cameroonian defender Charlie Ntamark and the Stockport midfielder Paul Ware.

Birmingham have paid pounds 300,000 for Toni Hey, a German winger from Fortuna Cologne.

Stoke hope to sign a Portuguese striker, Zay Angola, under the Bosman ruling. Angola, who scored 18 goals for Academica Coimbra last season, played on loan for Stoke at the end of the 1994-95 season but broke a leg at Swindon.

Bernd Hobsch, the former German international striker, signed yesterday for the French First Division club Rennes after five years at Werder Bremen. The 29-year-old Hobsch, who joined Bremen from the east German side Leipzig in 1992, signed a two-year deal with Rennes.