No terror from the deep: a look at Luton Town’s squad depth ahead of the 2020/2021 Championship season

With just a week to go until the BIG KICKOFF (capitals used to emphasise the bigness of it) in the Championship, I thought it made sense for this week’s blog to take a look at Luton Town’s squad and see how it’s shaping up for the season ahead.

And the good news for Town fans is that it’s looking in pretty good shape. Overall, the squad feels like it is a touch deeper than last season, that there’s a much better sense of what the management is trying to do with it and that the main concerns from last year have — at least to some degree — been addressed.

But rather than spoil the fun fully now, let’s take a look at how the Town is stocked in goal, at the back, in the middle of the park and up front to find out why I’m feeling relatively optimistic.

In goal

Whether Luton Town need to strengthen in goal or not will be determined by what start Simon Sluga, the club’s record signing, makes between the sticks this season.

Last season, Sluga made a significant handling error that led to a goal on his debut and continued in a shaky fashion for a number of months. This culminated, eventually, in a disappointingly error prone performance away at Derby after which he was briefly dropped by then manager Graeme Jones.

But in the later part of the season, Sluga provided enough evidence of why the club invested a reported £1.3m into him last summer.

Pre-lockdown, his form had already started picking up. Post-lockdown, he appeared to be a player rejuvenated — keeping three vital clean sheets and producing a number of outstanding performances against the likes of Leeds and Swansea.

And while James Shea and Harry Isted are both reasonable back ups, an in form Sluga could make a major difference for Luton this season and, hopefully, deliver on Ali Maxwell’s positive tip for him on the Tifo podcast. in the process

Goalkeepers: Simon Sluga, James Shea and Harry Isted (on loan at Wealdstone)

Development options: Tiernan Parker

At the back

Luton Town’s defence was one of the worst, if not the actual worst, defences in the division over the course of 2019/2020. And about a week ago, it was short a centre back, a left back and a right back.

But a week is a long time in football and Luton’s transfer team has moved decisively to rectify the major concerns with the side’s backline.

At right back, James Bree has returned from Aston Villa on a permanent after spending last season on loan. At left back, 21 year old Rhys Norrington-Davies has arrived on loan after performing admirably in spells at Barrow and Rochdale. And at centre back, Welsh international Tom Lockyer arrived on a free transfer from troubled Charlton.

The three arrivals change the situation significantly for the Town. Bree was one of the side’s outstanding performers in the close season. Norrington-Davies helps shore up Luton’s left side — where Dan Potts and Brendan Galloway’s injury problems have left the side short of fit options — as well as providing some youthful attacking intent. And Lockyer’s arrival provides valuable competition to Sonny Bradley and Matty Pearson, as well as plugging the sizeable gap left by Cameron Carter-Vickers (who has not returned to the side following a highly successful loan spell).

Furthermore, Luton probably have enough defensive cover in the squad to plug gaps where needed. Martin Cranie has the capability of filling in across the backline, whilePeter Kioso looked pretty able at right back during pre-season.

Ideally, the club would round off its transfer business by securing the return of Carter-Vickers and really solidify that defence. But considering where we were even a week ago, Luton look in a significantly better place than they were to overcome the issues of last season.

Defenders: James Bree (RB), Peter Kioso (RB), Martin Cranie (RB, CB, DM), Tom Lockyer (CB), Sonny Bradley (CB), Matty Pearson (CB), Rhys Norrington-Davies (LB), Dan Potts (LB) and Brendan Galloway (LB)

Development options: Cory Panter and Avan Jones (Hat tip to @slowlutontownfc who spotted the club had listed Jones as a forward incorrectly on its website)

In the middle of the park

Luton’s squad is strongest in the centre of the pitch. The club’s 4–4–2 diamond system that helped propel the Hatters into the Championship was built in part on the strength of the full backs, but was also reflective of the quality that was — and still is –in midfield.

The main reason for that strength is the blend of midfield talent in the squad that allows the side to play with surprising flexibility.

There’s Andrew Shinnie, a tidy playmaker who you’ll often see playing the pass before the assist. Pelly Ruddock stands out as a blend between ball winning midfielder and box to box presence, capable of breaking the play as well as he makes it. Luke Berry combines a pleasing cutting edge with the capability to retain the ball well. And Glen Rea is an, in my opinion, underrated defensive midfield general, who both exudes a valuable calm on the side and releases the rest of the midfield to play.

But even outside of these names, Luton have options too. Ryan Tunnicliffe and Eunan O’Kane (when fit) are both useful back ups capable of stepping in, while the likes of Martin Cranie at the back and Elliot Lee or George Moncur further forward can be brought in to supplement the central options. There’s even youngster Sam Beckwith who, aged 18, impressed at left back in a pre-season despite coming through the ranks in the middle of the park.

In short, Luton are well set in the middle of the park and are unlikely to need to bring anyone in unless someone such as Pelly moved on.

Midfielders: Glen Rea (DM), Eunan O’Kane (DM), Ryan Tunnicliffe (DM, CM), Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu (DM, CM), Andrew Shinnie (CM, AM) and Luke Berry (CM, AM)

Development Options: Jake Peck and Sam Beckwith

[Note: Martin Cranie, Elliot Lee and George Moncur also all offer depth in midfield.]

Pushing forward

Our examination of Luton’s squad finishes up top. As with the midfield, the Town should feel pretty confident that they have a competitive blend ready to achieve its aims in the division.

First up, the club boasts a surprisingly good range of wide forwards capable of changing the game for them.

This might seem unusual to someone aware that Luton played a diamond formation for nearly two seasons. But Nathan Jones likes one of his forwards to be capable of stretching defences on the front foot and be swift enough to lead breakaways.

This is how Harry Cornick, perhaps one of the standout performers of the last campaign, and Kazenga Lua-Lua initially contributed to the Town’s success. Wide forwards also played at the tip of the diamond on occasion, with George Moncur often filling that role.

But importantly, it appears as if wide forwards might be part of Luton’s play more consistently going forward. The 3–1 win against Norwich in the Carabao Cup saw the side line up in a 4–1–4–1, providing further opportunities for wingers. This was evidenced by an impressive cameo by Jordan Clark, a new arrival from Accrington, who turned the game decisively in Luton’s favour and laid on the final goal in style.

And when it comes to filling that centre forward berth, Luton benefit from having another arguably underrated player in their ranks: James Collins.

The 29 year old has a good track record of scoring in the football league, with 58 goals for Luton in 132 appearances. But while he is a decent goal scorer, his strength, work rate and mobility has allowed him to lead the line effectively for the Town. With greater attacking structure, it’s conceivable that he could score more than the 14 he plundered in his opening season in the Championship.

Perhaps the only lingering concern then for Luton is the quality of Collin’s back up. Both Elliot Lee and Danny Hylton are each fondly thought of by the manager, with Lee providing guile and Hylton being, quite frankly, a useful pain in the backside when coming off the bench.

But with neither boasting a track record at this level, the side could consider the addition of either a young forward on loan or look for a more experienced goal scorer to supplement the squad further.

Forwards: Kazenga Lua-Lua (LW, ST), George Moncur (LW, AM), Jordan Clark (RW), Harry Cornick (RW, ST), Elliot Lee (AM, ST), Danny Hylton (ST) and James Collins (ST)

Development Options: Josh Neufville

Conclusion — ready to go

So the good news for Hatters fans is that the squad looks well set for the season. Obviously, we have to temper our expectations and remind ourselves that Luton are operating within a quite tight set of budgetary constraints that could, ultimately, mean we’re short on quality.

But while that’s certainly true, the main feeling I got when looking through the squad is that it feels more coherent than last season’s squad. Recruitment at the back has been handily decisive. There’s been a welcome shift back towards signing young players ready to push on, rather than ageing heads on free transfers. And the return of Jones seems to have reinvigorated much of the squad, giving the side’s core a gentle uplift.

We don’t know how exactly this team will perform when the Championship season gets underway, but we can feel relatively confident that the squad has the right blend to push on in the coming months.

This is a passion project where I post about Luton Town on, roughly, a weekly basis. To get the latest updates, follow me here and on Twitter @GeorgeOsborn