Ex-Hammer relieved to finally get his chance upfront at Luton after Oakwell misery

The 22-year-old headed back to Kenilworth Road recently after a miserable spell at Championship side Barnsley, where he made just six substitute appearances, more often than not shunted out wide in the process.

However, since arriving at Luton, he has been used upfront during the pre-season campaign, and admitted it was a huge factor in putting pen to paper, saying: “I spoke to Nathan (Jones) before I came here and he’s told me to my face, so I really respect him for that.

“I’m looking forward to playing in my rightful position this year.

“I’ve been moved about in my career, it’s (playing wide) another string to my bow, I can do it, but my main position is striker.

“I want to be scoring goals for the team, so that is my position and I’m enjoying playing there again.”

There’s no assurance that Lee will be an automatic starter for the Hatters this season, despite coming through the ranks at Premier League side West Ham United.

With James Collins and Isaac Vassell, plus Danny Hylton waiting to come back from injury, the battle to take one of the two striker places will be fierce.

However, Lee admitted it was a big part of him rejoining the club he spent three months on loan at in 2015, saying: “I think anyone looking at the squad can tell it’s not a League Two squad.

“It’s changed massively from when I was here and looking at the squad was another reason why I decided to come back, as it’s so far from a League Two squad.

“It’s a really, really strong squad and I think we all have one main aim and that’s to win the league this season.

“No-one’s got a position cemented, we’ve all got to drive each other. Competition makes us all better, so we’re all looking forward to it and it’s only good for the club to have four great strikers.”

Whoever gets the nod to lead the line from boss Nathan Jones, there will be no bitterness from those on the bench, as Lee said: “We’ve all got to form partnerships me and Collo, me and Hylts, me and Vass, and vice versa. So it’s only good for the club if we can all form relationships as we’re all going to be playing with each other at some point.

“We don’t see it as keeping the other person out of the team, we see it as keeping yourself in the team, helping the team do well and pushing the others on in the mean time, so the competition is healthy.”

Meanwhile, when asked for his best recollection of his first spell at the Hatters, Lee added: “It was just good memories.

“I remember playing in front of the Luton fans, it was brilliant. That Wycombe game on TV, I scored two goals, so hopefully I can get more this season.

“I loved my time here at Luton, that was the reason why I wanted to come back.”