Hatters bring in Manchester United youngster on season-long loan

Luton have announced the signing of young Manchester United midfielder Dan Gore on a season-long loan, with a conditional option to buy.

The 21-year-old moved to Old Trafford from Burnley at the age of 14 in 2018, part of the Red Devils’ 2022 FA Youth Cup-winning side, named the club’s reserve team player of the year in the 2022-23 campaign. Gore went on to play six times for the U21s in the Football League Trophy, also earning his Premier League debut against Aston Villa in December 2023.

He also featured in the League Cup tie with Crystal Palace, having a loan spell at Port Vale in January 2024, although didn’t play due to injury and then headed to Rotherham United for two spells, the second seeing him feature 41 times and win Player of the Season while with the Millers last term.

Gore, who has also been capped by England at U16, U18 and U20 level, was a player who was on Town manager Jack Wilshere’s radar following their trip to Yorkshire last season, as speaking to the club’s official website, he said: “Dan was someone who, when we played Rotherham in the home game quite early on in our time here and drew 0-0, we spoke about as coaches, saying that we really liked him. He's got something a little bit different. He's aggressive in duels. He can carry the ball. He's got personality on the pitch.

"He loves a tackle, and he’s someone that we kept our eye on in the second game up there. I thought we were actually really good that night and we dominated most of the game, but he never gave up. I kept seeing him trying to drive his team on. He’s got a really good education at a top club in Manchester United, so he’s definitely someone who comes in to improve us in that midfield area.”

With Town now having loan players from United, Manchester City, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur in Gore, Emilio Lawrence, Harrison Ashby and Jamie Donley, Wilshere is honoured that top flight clubs are trusting the Hatters as a club for them to progress with, adding: “It's a big thing. It’s more credit when a player wants to come back like Emilio has, because these clubs can see the work that everyone's putting in to try and develop their young players.

“That then attracts other top clubs, and I'm proud of that because that's a credit to everyone in the environment. Of course, football's a big part of that. But it’s not just football – it’s medical, it’s performance, it’s nutrition – holistically how we look after them and how we make them feel. Ultimately, they're here to make us successful on the pitch, but we feel like we can develop them too, on and off it. We should all be proud of the culture we’re creating that is enabling these loans to happen.”