Hatters teen recalled from Hemel loan spell to feature in FA Cup
Chigozie will be in the squad on Saturday
Academy graduate Christian Chigozie will be in Luton’s first team squad for their FA Cup first round tie against National League side Forest Green Rovers tomorrow afternoon after being recalled from his loan spell at National League South side Hemel Hempstead Town.
The 18-year-old is highly rated by manager Jack Wilshere, who had a close look at him during pre-season and after awarding him a new contract in May, then named the defender on the bench for the club’s Carabao Cup second round trip to Premier League giants earlier in the season. Eager for the teenager to get some first team football, he was borrowed by the Tudors back in September, and after scoring on his debut in the 2-0 win at Slough Town, started the next five games, as Hemel drew two and lost three.
However, injuries to Kal Naismith and Hakeem Odoffin have left the Hatters short of defensive options, meaning that Chigozie was brought back from his time away, with an idea of being involved both tomorrow and Luton’s Jersey Mike’s Trophy group stage clash that is being held a week on Tuesday.
Wilshere said: “He’ll be in the squad. Of course, George (Johnston) and Mads (Andersen) have been excellent, but they’ve played a lot of minutes. They’ve played a lot of games together, which I actually think has been really good for them to build that relationship and you can actually see them getting stronger and stronger as the weeks go by. So as we want to keep developing that relationship, we need cover for them as well. He’s done well (on loan) and that’s what Chigsy needs.
"We got him back around January last year and there was a discussion, as he’d been out injured for a while, whether we keep him with us and try and develop him, or we sent him out on loan. We chose to keep him with us, which I think was a good decision and we always knew that the next step was for him to go out and play men’s football, to understand what it was about, to get beat up a bit, to win duels, to play against big, tough strikers, and he’s done that. He’s back now to help and cover, but probably with a view as well to going out again.”
Loan club Hemel paid tribute to the efforts of the former Chiltern Academy pupil during his month at Vauxhall Road, as on their official X page, the Tudors wrote: “Hemel Hempstead Town FC can this evening confirm that CB Christian Chigozie has been recalled from his loan by his parent club Luton Town. Christian played every minute he was available whilst a Tudor - making 6 90 minute appearances and contributing 1 goal.
"We want to thank Christian for his time and efforts in red, and wish him all the best with his development. Christian’s recall is a testament to the incredible development he achieved during his time with us. Seeing him return to his parent club ready to compete at the highest level is a proud moment for our coaching staff and everyone involved in his development.”
With Naismith ruled out for at least the next fortnight due to his calf injury suffered against Huddersfield on Tuesday night, giving the latest news on how Odoffin is recovering, having gone off in the 2-1 victory over Barnsley, Wilshere added: “Haks was on the grass today. He’s not close to the squad at the moment, but the last few days he’s been on the grass, which is really positive. We brought Chigsy back to help support the centre backs, we also need Haks back to help support the centre backs and Izzy (Jones) as well, so hopefully he won’t be too long.”