Injury helped Luton land in-demand Iraq international from Tractor Boys
New signing not ready to feature for the Hatters just yet
Luton boss Matt Bloomfield revealed that an injury to deadline day addition Ali Al-Hamadi was a significant factor in the Hatters’ successful attempts to sign the Iraq international from Championship side Ipswich Town on transfer deadline day.
The 23-year-old penned a season-long loan arrangement at Kenilworth Road, Town having an obligation to purchase if certain obligations are met, but he won’t be available to feature straight away due to a calf problem picked up with the Tractor Boys. With Al-Hamadi being heavily sought by other sides during the summer transfer window, the fact that he won’t be able to play immediately was a big reason why Luton were able to land his signature, for what could eventually be a far lower price than he might have gone for.
Discussing just why he went ahead with the deal for a player who had been one of his main targets over the summer, Bloomfield said: “We hope Ali’s going to be here for a long time and we want him to be a big player for our football club. He’s injured right now, he’s got a calf injury. I’m not sure exactly how long he’s going to be, it’s not long term but he’ll be out for a little while and we don’t expect to see him for the next fixture (against Plymouth Argyle).
"Earlier in the summer he had a lot of interest from higher up the food chain and abroad for a lot higher price than what we were able to get him for, so it’s a necessary evil. We believe we were able to get him because he’s carrying an injury right now. On the other side you’re not going to have him in immediately, but we want him to be a big part of our future. We’ve been chasing him most of the summer, he’s been in our thoughts, he wasn’t available until over the weekend so we had a decision to make.
"If we want him to be part of our future, do we take him with a little injury? We decided that we wanted him to be here, so we want him with that. I think it’s right to be honest about the situation with Ali, because we’re really pleased to get him here. He’s working really hard, the medical team will now take over his recovery and his rehabilitation and we hope to have him available as soon as possible.”
When discussing his move from Portman Road, Al-Hamadi admitted that linking up with Bloomfield again was a huge reason why he ultimately chose Luton as his next destination, the pair together at Wycombe Wanderers as players when the striker moved to Buckinghamshire in November 2021, having left Swansea City.
On how their prior relationship played a part in the deal going through, the Town manager continued: “I’ve been blowing his phone up most of the summer! As a guy, I think a lot of him. As a character, his work-rate, the way he goes about his work, the way he carries himself, he’s willing to speak his mind. He’s a big believer in his culture and his religion, I just love that about him.
"That’s not to underestimate how much hard work went into getting Jerry (Yates) and Nahki (Wells) and Lasse (Nordas). We’re really pleased with the four we’ve got, and Joe (Gbode) we’ve got as a development one for the future who can contribute while Ali is injured, and we can try and take Joe as far as we can as well. So it’s been a lot of hard work that’s gone into the whole summer.”
Although he only netted just five times in 29 games for Ipswich, he made just four starts, with 11 of those outings coming in the Premier League last term, as he finished the campaign on loan at Stoke City, on target twice in 15 matches. However, when was last in League One, Al-Hamadi netted a superb 23 goals in 43 fixtures for AFC Wimbledon, as on his previous record, Bloomfield added: “At Wimbledon he played in a front two and scored a lot of goals. He got his big move to Ipswich and played in the Premier League last season.
"He’s still got loads of development, he’s still a young man who’s just been in an elite environment at Ipswich with some fantastic players around him and he’s certainly grown as a person and as a player. I tried to get him at Colchester when I was there and unfortunately we weren’t able to. He’s someone I think a lot of. We’re really excited to have him here and add him to the group.”