TOWN chief Mark Cooper believes that Nathan Byrne and Michael Smith have both made the right moves for the respective careers after departing the County Ground yesterday.

Flying winger Byrne sealed a long-mooted move to the Championship as he was snapped up by Wolverhampton Wanderers whilst Smith finally joined League One rivals Barnsley, with the striker moving to Oakwell on an initial loan until January with a view to a permanent move as his transfer was worked out in the final hour of the window.

Former Tottenham Hotspur trainee Byrne, 23, first joined Town on loan in March 2013 and is believed to have moved for a fee close to the seven-figure mark.

“He deserves his move. I’m absolutely elated for him,” said Cooper.

“He’s a fantastic professional. He loved being at the football club and he saw his mates go in the summer and never showed any frustration.

“He got on with it and he’s got a brilliant move at a really big football club and I’m sure he’ll be a big asset and he was a pleasure to work with, and I’m sure all the players and staff will say the same.”

Meanwhile, Smith’s transfer to Barnsley signals the end of a long-running transfer saga which has seen the striker linked with a number of clubs.

The Tyneside-born man, who scored 18 goals last season, was believed to favour a move close to his hometown and came close to joining Sheffield United before eventually sealing a deal elsewhere in South Yorkshire, with the Swindon manager confirming yesterday that his loan was completed at around 5.50pm on Tuesday evening – 10 minutes before the close of the transfer window.

But Cooper was relieved for Smith after seeing the striker endure a mentally-challenging summer.

The Town boss said: “It’s been a little bit of a disjointed summer for Michael and it’s probably a good thing that he’s having a little bit of a fresh challenge to get him going and give him that spark again."

Striker Miles Storey also departed on loan yesterday, joining Inverness Caledonian Thistle until January.