Luton Town Squad audit - what needs to improve
It is a perilous time to be a Luton fan. Gary Sweet has promised the club will be ‘aggressive’ in the transfer window, yet there is a week left and Luton have only made the one signing for the first team so far, bringing in the pacy winger Isaiah Jones from Middlesbrough. The central defender Christ Makosso has also joined, however he has not yet featured in a match-day squad, so we can assume he isn’t quite ready to make an impact.
The Luton squad has been ravaged by injuries in key positions such as centre-back, while most of the squad are struggling and out form, with the Hatters bottom of the Championship form table consisting of the last six games. There is a lack of goalscoring firepower within the team, and a leaky defence that urgently needs fixing.
Below we will assess what needs to be done in the remaining time this window to try and save Luton from back to back relegations, with the club currently sitting 23rd in the Championship, there is much work to be done to try and save our Championship status.
Refresh the attack
The signing of Jones from Middlesbrough is a good start and a show of intent to improve Luton’s lacklustre goalscoring, with the Town currently 20th in the goalscoring charts with a measly 29 goals scored. More must be done however, with both Morris and Adebayo struggling and out of form, a new striker should be heavily considered.
Adebayo and Morris are far from the form that saw them both hit double figures in the Premier League.
Taylor has been sold to Huddersfield, while Woodrow often fails to make an impact off the bench. Luton have been heavily linked to Richard Kone from Wycombe, a player whom Matt Bloomfield should know how to get the best out of, considering he was the 21-year-old’s boss at the Chairboys. Signing him would show supporters that the Hatters hierarchy are fully behind Matt Bloomfield’s vision.
Reinforce the defence
The Luton defence has struggled all season, with the team conceding the third most goals in the divison, 48 so far. Long term injuries to Teden Mengi, Reece Burke and Alfie Doughty have devastated the Hatters backline. This is an area of the team that is in dire need of improvement, and it is imperative that Luton do not repeat the catastrophic mistake of last January where they refused to sign a centre-back following Lockyer’s heart problems.
Almost all of Luton’s defenders have struggled so far this season, neither Hashioka, Walters or Moses have been able to lock down their place in the right side of defence, while Bell is looking slower and more tired. The team is also currently down to just three centre-backs capable of playing in a four-man defence, with McGuiness, Holmes and Andersen available, the latter always having injury problems. Centre-back and full-back both need to be reinforced this January.
Use our Premier League loans
Some of Luton’s best players over the last few seasons have come from loans from Premier League teams. Lokonga and Kabore on loan last season from Arsenal and Manchester City played big roles in the Premier League campaign, while the loan signings of Cody Drameh and Marvelous Nakamba in 2023 helped propel Luton to 3rd place and a play-off victory. Dewsbury-Hall, now playing for a top 6 club in Chelsea, was also an example of another hugely successful loan signing.
The fact that there has only been one signing on loan this season (Tom Krauss, who has been one of the team’s better players in central midfield), is unacceptable, especially considering our past successes with the loan system. Gilchrist and Rak-Sayki have shone for Sheffield United, as have Sarmiento, Humphreys and Anthony for Burnley. Luton MUST make better use of loans available to them.
Move on players out of favour
Luton do have one squad place available with the departure of Eric Pieters, but more will need to be open if they bring in reinforcements. Woodrow has been linked with a move away to Wrexham, while players like Pelly, Andersen and Krul rarely ever feature. Andersen should only go if a centre-back is brought in, but the Town’s squad is too large at the moment, and we need to be ruthless to make space for better players to come in.
How will Luton look at the end of the window?
Gary Sweet and co have left it fairly late to sign players, with less than a week to go, so we must hope that urgent work is being done behind the scenes to bring players in quickly, because Luton’s place in the division is at stake. Starting quality players are needed up front and at centre-back as a minimum, whether these are permanent or loan signings doesn’t matter, the team needs an injection of quality to help support Matt Bloomfield’s struggling side. Teams around Luton are strengthening, and may leave the Hatters in the dust if they fail to act.
