Hatters chief has 'good hopes' for McJannet as he knows gaining Category Two status will help Luton keep their young stars

Luton boss Nathan Jones has 'good hopes' for youngster Ed McJannet as the continues to catch the eye on the international stage this season.

The 17-year-old has been a regular for the Republic of Ireland U19s recently, playing in all three of their Euro U19 Championship qualifiers in Bulgaria, while he also captained the U18s earlier this term as well, during a 2-0 victory over Hungary in Budapest.

He returned to the Hatters U18s side to score in the 5-2 Youth Alliance Area Cup semi-final victory over Northampton Town recently and was also part of the Town Development side who drew 1-1 against the UK Armed Forces at Hitchin Town on Tuesday afternoon.

When discussing his progress, Jones said: “We’re really pleased, he’s such a good kid.

"There's such diligence to what he does and we’re really proud of him.

"He’s playing for Ireland and he’s someone we’ve got good hopes for.

"We don’t put too much pressure on him, but he’s someone who’s doing very well in both the academy development squad, and then when he comes across with us to train, he never looks out of place."

McJannet, who signed his first pro deal on his birthday back in January is part of a development squad that Jones is trying to bolster at Kenilworth Road, with the additions of Conor Lawless and Josh Williams recently.

A number of players like Jake Burger, Casey Pettit and Aidan Francis-Clarke have caught the eye in the recent games at Top Field, while first year scholar Millar Matthews-Lewis impressed during his brief cameo yesterday.

Jones knows the quicker they can upgrade their academy it will boost their chances of the youngsters having an impact on the Hatters first team, adding: "It’s a constant ongoing thing in terms of wanting to improve the group and the academy constantly.

"Because if we do that then we have a greater possibility of producing players for the first team, which helps the club.

“It’s no secret that we want to go as quickly as possible to Category 2, which will enable us to do a lot of things differently, and attract and keep certain players."