Hatters forward is a potential target for former club Barnsley

Luton striker Jacob Brown could be making a transfer deadline day return to his former club Barnsley according to reports.

The 27-year-old moved to Kenilworth Road from Stoke City in the summer of 2024 as the Hatters were gearing up for their Premier League campaign, going on to score twice in 19 top flight appearances for Luton, before suffering a serious knee injury that ended his campaign. Having returned when Town were back in the Championship, Brown came off the bench to score the third goal as fierce rivals Watford were defeated 3-0 at Kenilworth Road and the winner in a 1-0 victory over Cardiff City.

However, the Scotland international, with eight caps to his name, was then injured again during the 0-0 draw with Middlesbrough in March 2025, as his season was ended once more. Returning under new manager Jack Wilshere when Luton were held to a goalless draw by Rotherham in November, Brown went on to make six appearances, with three starts, but having come on for the closing stage at Exeter City on New Year’s Day, has been left out of the club’s last five League One squads, and didn’t even feature in the Vertu Trophy defeat to Swindon Town either.

He could now be moving back to Oakwell, the place where he began his career, scoring 12 goals in 82 appearances, before heading to Stoke in September 2020, as a report on Football League World said “Barnsley have entered talks with League One rivals Luton in an effort to complete a move for Brown ahead of this evening's deadline, with (Conor) Hourihane (manager) and co hoping to intensify discussions as they chase the deal.

"The Tykes have a dearth of seasoned forward options away from the likes of David McGoldrick and the potentially-departing Keillor-Dunn, meaning a reunion with Brown could make a great deal of sense as Hourihane looks to try and propel his side up the table in the latter stages of the campaign.”

Discussing the possibility of Brown, who has scored seven goals in 60 matches for the Hatters, going out on loan recently, Wilshere had said: “Yes, Jacob, when I first came in, was injured for quite a long time and then he came back, got fit, we gave him some minutes, gave him a few starts, and he needs to play, he needs to play football.

"I think he’s someone that can help us in some moments, but it’s also been difficult with him, where’s he going to fit in? It goes back to my point of how many nines can you have on the bench? We tried Jacob on the wing, but I can see he’s a number nine, so it might be something we’re open to.”