Former Spurs, Palace and Everton winger on trial with the Hatters and will play against Leeds

Luton boss Rob Edwards has revealed that former England, Spurs, Crystal Palace and Everton winger Andros Townsend is currently training with the club and will turn out for the Development squad in their Premier League Cup clash against Leeds United this evening.

The 32-year-old came through the ranks at Tottenham, turning pro in 2008, having a number of loan moves during his eight years in North London, going to QPR, Ipswich and Birmingham City.

After playing 93 games for Spurs, scoring 11 goals, Townsend was sold to Newcastle United for £12m in January 2016, netting four times in 13 outings for the Magpies, before Crystal Palace shelled out £13m for his services just six months later.

A lengthy stint at Selhurst Park saw the winger, who has 13 full England caps to his name, with three goals, make 185 appearances for the Eagles, on target 16 times.

He joined Everton in the summer of 2021 once his contract had expired, playing 27 matches and scoring seven times for the Toffees, but has been a free agent even since his deal ran out in May.

Townsend had looked set for a move to fellow newly-promoted club Burnley in the summer after spending pre-season with the Clarets, until that fell through at the last minute, with the Hatters now showing a real interest, as he has travelled to York to play in the match tonight.

Speaking to the press this afternoon about the chances of signing him, Edwards said: “There is room in the squad, we’ve only got 24, so there’s room for one more if we wanted to bring someone else in.

"Andros is available at the moment, he’s come in and been training with us for a week and he’s playing in a game tonight for the youngsters up at Leeds.

"We’ve been able to get a good look at him and also I've got to stress, for him, he needs to be able to have a look at us as well.

"He’s had a fantastic playing career, he’s still really, really keen, hungry to play, but it’s got to be right for him as well, for both parties.

“I’ve seen real signs of quality and what we’ve got to make sure is that if we’re going to add to the group, they can help us and make us better.”

It isn’t known just how long Townsend, whose last appearance was for Everton back in March, will play for in tonight’s clash for Adrian Forbes’ youngsters, but Edwards isn’t basing his call on offering the winger a deal on just how he performs at the LNER Community Stadium, as he knows any move has got to suit both the club and individual.

He continued: “I don’t think it’s purely a decision on tonight.

"We’ve had him in now for around a week and the game tonight will be good to see the bigger pitch stuff, but I’ll stress it’s got to be right for him as well.

"It's as much about him having the right feel for Luton Town as it is for us feeling that he can add to the group.

"It’s got to be the right fit, the right character, but also got to be right for the player as well.

"We’ve got to make sure that he’s happy with the club and our style can fit him as well.

“His spirits have been great, he’s fairly local as well, so nice for him to be around at home and be coming in.

"He’s been great, real breath of fresh air around the place, very, very professional and hard working and he’s a lovely down to earth guy.

“He’s someone who’s been at a bit of a higher level to me in his career, but I’ve really liked getting to know him over this week.”

With Townsend having played at the top tier of English football for large chunks of his time as a pro, asked whether he had lifted standards in training since heading to the Brache, Edwards added: “It’s hard for me to say but the levels in training continue to go up rapidly now, but they've gone up so much since we got that working group together now and got that window done.

"People are starting to adjust to how we do, how we work and what we do.

"The levels are really pleasing in training and they've got to be as we’re competing at the toughest level.

"He’s certainly someone who has a lot of quality and loads of Premier League experience.

"I think it’s good, if you put yourself in the players shoes, you don’t know quite what they’ll be thinking.

"Some will be thinking, right it’s more competition, some will see his qualities, his work ethic and how he acts around the place, as he’s a very, very diligent, a brilliant worker.

"He really looks after himself so some of those players will see his standards as well, so that’s really good.

"It’s hard to tell as I can't get in peoples heads and don’t know how they’ll take it, but the training while he’s been in has been very good.”