Edwards looking to add ‘more than one or two’ new signings to his Hatters squad
Luton boss Rob Edwards is confident that there will be ‘more than one or two’ new signings heading to Kenilworth Road before the Premier League season gets underway on August 12.
With the summer transfer window now in full swing, the Hatters have made three new additions so far, starting off with Rotherham United attacker Chiedozie Ogbene joining on a free.
They then broke their transfer record to bring in Mads Andersen from Barnsley, upping that once more when signing Birmingham City’s Tahith Chong last week, shelling out what is believed to be around £4m on the former Manchester United youngster.
Elliot Thorpe and Jack Walton have both departed on loan deals to Shrewsbury and Dundee United, as Edwards anticipates there being plenty more movement in the coming weeks.
Speaking to the club’s official website, he said: “There’s a lot of conversations going on and there’s a lot of work going on behind the scenes.
“Gary (Sweet, chief executive) and the guys are working hard on some incomings now, they’ll also be one or two people that will be moving on, whether that’s on loans or permanent contracts.
“It’s important we get a really good idea of which way and which direction we want to shape the squad, so I’m sure in the next week or two they’ll be more than one or two new faces coming in.”
On just what kind of attributes he was looking for from his new signings, Edwards continued: “The key is, this is only my way, but I want to try and win football matches and I think the best way to do that is play to the players’ strengths.
“That’s what we tried to do last year, so we’ll bring players in and try and use them to their strengths as well.
“We’ll bring a certain type of player in who can give us x and then we’ll ask him to do that, because that’s what he’s good at.
“We want players who can give us real quality, we want athleticism, we need legs, we need pace, we want players who are able to press, sprint back and then get us up the pitch quickly as well.
“We want a certain type of player, so that’s what we’re going to try and bring in.”
Despite focusing heavily on recruitment, Edwards was also happy to see a number of the old guard agree new contracts to remain in Bedfordshire and get what he feels is a deserved crack at the top flight.
Long-serving midfielders Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu and Luke Berry both signed new deals, with Tom Lockyer and Amari’i Bell following suit, improved terms penned by Reece Burke, Carlton Morris, Elijah Adebayo and Cauley Woodrow too.
Edwards added: “We want to keep that core.
“I’ve spoken about that a heck of a lot, it’s really, really important that some of these lads who have worked so, so hard to get the opportunity to play in the Premier League, they deserve it.
“But we know we’re going to need some people to come in and help, help lift the quality, help give a few of the lads another little lift.
“We need more competition in the group as well, that’s inevitable.
“We’ve gone up to a really, really high level and we’re going to need a real tight group like we have, but also now within the team element of the sport, there’s an individual there as well.
“We want people to push past each other and a couple of new ones coming in, it needs to lift other people’s performances as well.
“The players need to realise that and they do.
“They’ve come back in really good condition, they know what’s coming, but we are working hard.”
