Hatters legend insists Luton are looking at the 'long term' picture during transfer window
Harford confident the Hatters will add to their squad
Head of recruitment Mick Harford insists Luton are very much looking at the ‘long term’ picture when attempting to add to their squad during the summer transfer window.
The Hatters have only managed to bolster their squad for the 2024-25 campaign with two additions so far, those being former Oxford United and Brentford midfielder Shandon Baptiste on a free transfer, plus ex-Arsenal youngster Reuell Walters. Boss Rob Edwards has spoken of his frustration at those being the only incomings ahead of tonight’s opener against Burnley, stating the club have been trying their hardest to bring in new faces, particularly with their defensive injury crisis still not over.
The Luton chief also urged supporters to keep in mind that when Marvelous Nakamba, Jacob Brown, Mads Andersen, Amari’i Bell, Reece Burke and Daiki Hashioka are all back, then it will clearly increase the quality of Town’s squad, while also pointing out the fact they have kept the likes of Carlton Morris, Elijah Adebayo, Alfie Doughty and Teden Mengi so far.
They were both reasons that Harford echoed too, as speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “We lost Ross (Barkley), we lost Sambi Lokonga and we lost also Issa Kabore who went back to their parent clubs, but we've kept the majority of our players so the core of the team is still with us. There are some very important players in our opportunity to try and get back into the Premier League, we know we were very vulnerable but they performed really well in last season's performance and we've tried to keep that core.
"We’ve brought in Reuell Walters from Arsenal and Shandon Baptiste from Brentford who have been good additions. We are looking to strengthen. It’s a really tricky combination we're in at the moment as we've got a slight hangover from last season with injuries and we're looking long term rather than short term, but it’s ongoing.
"Rob and Gary (Sweet, CEO) are working tremendously hard to bring players in. I think everyone knows the process now is very different in terms of recruiting players, it’s a long drawn out thing, so we are hopeful we can get one or two in and if we can get our injured players back as soon as possible then we’re in a good position.”
Luton find themselves in the unusual place of being one of the bookies favourites to go up this term, something they haven’t been accustomed to since their days back in the Conference and then League Two around a decade ago now. Edwards himself has welcomed that added pressure and it’s something Harford feels the players will have to take on board going into the campaign, adding: “I think we have to accept that.
"Rob's accepted that, he's explained it to the players and spoke to the media about this. The expectation is on us and it’s a different pressure that’s on us this season. We have to try and get promoted, we have to try and be in the shake-up. I’m really certain with the squad we’ve got and if we can add to that in the near future, we’ll definitely be in the shake-up at the end of the season.”