Hatters sign talented winger from Tractor Boys on deadline day

Luton Town have bolstered their attacking options with the transfer deadline day signing of talented Ipswich Town winger Tudor Mendel on a loan deal until January.

The 21-year-old was highly regarded in his academy days, having initially come through at Premier League side Chelsea, before leaving Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2023 to join Anderlecht, where he played for the Belgian club’s reserve team, RSCA Futures, in the Challenger Pro League. Mendel then returned to England to join Ipswich Town following the Tractor Boys’ promotion to the top flight in July 2024, and made his senior debut during their Carabao Cup win over Leicester City last month.

A left-footer who plays mainly off the right, Mendel, capped by England at U15 and U17 level, is clearly highly rated at Portman Road, having signed a new two year deal with the option of an extra 12 months recently, as he is someone that Luton boss Jack Wilshere, who was in charge of Arsenal's U18s earlier in his coaching career, has been aware of for some time. Speaking to the club’s official website, he said: “I’ve known about Tudor from his time at Chelsea. When you're in the academy world and a young player gets a move abroad, you're aware of things like that.

“We knew he was a good player and kept an eye on him, and that was an area of the pitch I thought that we improved a lot last year, but we wanted to strengthen again with someone who gives us something a little bit different. Jake (Richards) has obviously been playing there and does really well in that role, but I see him finishing more as a midfielder, and although we have competition for places, we lost Shayden for a while to injury.

“We wanted to add more of a direct threat, with real pace. Tudor's a right winger, but he can play on the left as well. He's left-footed and a really intelligent player. He’s had a good education in the game, and when I spoke to him, you could tell straight away how driven he was to take the next step in his development. He's someone who we can help, but he can also help us and we have the opportunity to extend beyond January if he does well.”