Bradley instantly sold by vision of Hatters boss

After turning down a contract at Plymouth Argyle, the 26-year-old centre half was free to look for new employment, with Luton quick to get in touch.

A chat with Jones soon followed as the former Portsmouth and Crawley Town defender, who played 40 times in League One for the Pilgrims last season, was left in no doubt where his future lay.

Speaking exclusively to the News/Gazette, he said: “It was difficult (leaving Plymouth), as initially, I came out in the press and said that I did want to stay at Plymouth and I thought that was going to be the plan.

“I had a couple of conversations with the manager and we couldn’t sort a deal out.

“After I knew I was going to be leaving, that’s when I spoke to my agent and said ‘I was going to move on, so we need to start planning my future now.’

“Nathan got in touch with me, I went down and when I met the gaffer at his home, we had a really, really good chat.

“He told me what the plans were, talked about last season and then talked about the future going forward.

“Me and my agent were really impressed, so straight away I walked out, got back in the car and I said, ‘I want to do it, I want to be involved.’

“After that, I was away for a week, but when I came back, we got everything signed and I’m delighted now.”

On just what it was about Jones that impressed him so much, Bradley continued: “I know a few of the boys at the club and I spoke to a few of them, so I’ve only ever heard good things about the manager.

“He’s someone who wants to work hard, but also wants to play football.

“So when I went to meet him, I was kind of expecting it to be the way it was.”

It wasn’t just Luton who were in for Bradley either as he could have chosen a number of other clubs, but the chat with Jones swiftly blew them out of the water.

He continued: “There was probably six or seven League One teams that were potentially interested.

“There were some managers I didn’t even go and meet to be honest, because once I met the gaffer here I was sold instantly.

“I spoke to my agent and just wanted to get everything tied up.

“The way that the club is going, I feel that for me personally, once I spoke to the gaffer, his ambitions and my ambitions kind of match.

“I’m not turning up just to be part of a standard League One team and have an average season, I’m here because I want to be competing at the top end of the division.

“That’s where the club sees themselves too, they want to compete, so it’s an ambitious match and it was perfect for me really.”

Bradley’s move to Luton has been something boss Jones had been looking to secure for a while with the defender often linked during previous transfer windows.

Having known about Town’s interest helped with the move too, as Bradley added: “When I met the gaffer, he said to me, ‘over the last 12 months, we’ve wanted to bring you in the door.’

“Every transfer window there were the rumours and Luton were always interested, but to be honest, all the time I was contracted at Plymouth, I wanted to honour my contract.

“I respect the contract I had at Plymouth, so while I was contracted, it wasn’t going to be possible for me to move on. But when I didn’t agree a new deal with Plymouth, it was time for me to move on.

“I was a free agent, I had to plan my future, of course I knew that the gaffer was interested, so literally, a couple of conversations, went and met him and we got it done.”