Hatters chief hails long-serving Mpanzu as Luton Town's 'heartbeat'

Town boss Rob Edwards has labelled Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu as Luton’s ‘heartbeat’ as the massively popular midfielder moves to within touching distance of his place in the record books this weekend.

The 29-year-old signed for the Hatters on loan from West Ham United back in December 2013 as a teenager under former manager John Still, with the club trying to fight their way out of the Blue Square Bet Premier and back into the Football League having been relegated in 2009 due to a 30-point deduction by the FA.

With Mpanzu on board on loan initially and then permanently a month later, he helped Town finish on 101 points to romp to the title that season, ending their five long years in the wilderness, as after Nathan Jones took over in January 2016, the club then took off, winning promotion from League Two in 2018 and going straight through League One as champions the following season.

Now having spent four years in the Championship, Luton are on the verge of taking the next step, facing Coventry City in the play-off final Wembley on Saturday, with the winners becoming a Premier League club at the end of it.

For Mpanzu, he is 90 minutes away from being the first player to achieve the feat of playing in all top five divisions with the same club, but Edwards knows that will count for little on the day, as he said: “If, and it would be, I need to stress that, it would be an incredible story.

"I know there’s people that have gone from the National League and gone and done incredible things in the Premier League, but to do it with one club would be a great story.

"If, if, we’re able to do it, there’s not one person I’d be more happy for.

"He’s such an important person around the place, an incredible man and he deserves it, but that doesn't mean we’re going to do it.

"We’ve got to go and make it happen, but it would be great for him.”

Going into more detail on just how big a part of the fabric Mpanzu actually is at Kenilworth Road, Edwards continued: “You hear him before you see him and then you do see him quite often if he’s in his purple suit.

"He’s just a brilliant guy, whether we’ve won, lost, drawn, it’s hot, it’s cold, a miserable Monday morning or whatever, he’s the same.

"You need people like that in football as it is a pretty unique sport, business, whatever it is these days that we’re in.

"There’s not many quite like it and he keeps you going, he drives you and this group of lads, they do drive themselves, but he’s so important.

"He’s like the heartbeat of the group, as he’s been here for so long.

"A brilliant guy, really, really honest, so hard working and has just stepped up and stepped up and stepped up, so to do one more level would be incredible.”

It’s quite clear that Mpanzu’s team-mates think the same too, as striker Carlton Morris said: “Pelly’s extremely unique.

"As a personality, he’s brilliant, I don’t know how he does it.

"He’s full of energy every day, he plays the game with a smile on his face in training and on a match day.

“That sort of energy is contagious, it spreads throughout the squad and just leaves that happy feeling.

"It’s so important to have players like that in your squad.”

Despite Edwards' affinity with the former Hammers youngster, he certainly won’t be letting the midfielder choose what attire Town head to Wembley in, adding: “He wanted to wear shorts, he’s got great legs hasn't he?

"He’s got big muscly legs, but we’ll stick to our tracksuits and try to keep it really normal.”