The 31 year old former England Under 21 international has cost more than £5million during the course of his professional career, and his signing for Leigh has caused huge interest, with more than 2,300 people viewing the news story detailing his signing since Tuesday evening.

It certainly underlines the benefit of an ambitious, young manager and great facilities, with Garry Flitcroft and the Leigh Sports Village a winning combination for the club. The impact of both of these factors certainly cannot be underestimated, with Jansen rating the LSV facilities on a par with "most Championship clubs", while the contacts and former team mates of Flitcroft certainly raise the bar when compared to the usual non-league method of experienced managers signing the same players with each passing club.

Garry Flitcroft shows Matt Jansen around the dazzling Leigh Sports Village Stadium

Although Leigh have made impressive signings in the past from players who are familiar with the non-league circuit, none can quite compare with the signing of Jansen, particularly when bearing in mind Northern Ireland international Steve Jones was actually signed from Chorley before moving on to bigger things with Crewe Alexandra, Huddersfield Town and Bradford City.

Jansen is the type of player that would be a favourite of Championship Manager devotees, including myself, over the past decade, and the prospect of him lining up for Leigh is a surreal one in itself.

That his signing has been supplemented with the arrival of the Baguley brothers, Chris and Jamie, from neighbours FC United of Manchester, along with the retention of stalwart midfielder Andy Heald and impressive goalkeeper Stephen Drench. This points to the likelihood of what will hopefully be an entertaining and successful season for the club, as they start to look back up the footballing ladder, rather than the attempts to dodge the relegation trapdoor that have become all too familiar in recent seasons.

Veteran midfielder Andy Heald has been a revelation since rejoining the club

With the club participating in the UniBond League Division One North this season, it represents the fourth different league that Heald will have represented the club, having appeared for Leigh in the Conference National, Conference North and UniBond Premier League in three spells with the club that have brought well over a century of appearances.

It's fair to say that there is rarely a dull moment on this rollercoaster of following Leigh's football club, but hopes are high that this season will be the one that sees the Leythers begin to rise again.

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