Edwards left impressed by unflustered Hatters youngster after his early introduction against Fulham
Johnson called on once Mengi had to go off injured
Luton boss Rob Edwards was left highly impressed with the efforts of youngster Joe Johnson during only his second ever Premier League appearance yesterday.
The 18-year-old had been named on the bench for the final home game of the season against Fulham, called upon after just 17 minutes when Teden Mengi picked up an injury and although he has done so in the past, this time the warrior-like centre half was unable to soldier on. Having played in the Carabao Cup and FA Cup twice, Johnson wasn’t a stranger to the level, on the bench a number of times this term, also coming on for his debut against Manchester City last month.
Forming a back three that contained Gabe Osho and Daiki Hashioka, Johnson looked comfortable in possession, going on to use the ball efficiently as his 87.5 percent passing success rate would suggest. He gave an assured showing throughout his 70 minutes of top flight football, as asked about his efforts of the academy graduate, who has been called up to the England U18s squad today, Edwards said: “There was little bits that he’ll learn from, that’s always the case but I thought Joe did great.
“The plan was to get him on anyway, a little bit earlier than we expected, but we've got high hopes for him. As a young player, Joe doesn’t get fazed by too much anyway, he doesn’t get flustered, but when you have to go on really quickly like that because of an injury, sometimes you can be not ready and not prepared. But he took it in his stride and I thought he went on to have a really strong game.”