Luton chief expecting summer exits as he looks to trim Hatters' squad

Luton boss Jack Wilshere is eager to begin trimming his squad at Kenilworth Road in order to make way for new additions to join the Hatters.

Town currently go into the season with 24 senior outfield players at their disposal, two over the allowed number that can be selected when it comes to registering just who he will use in the upcoming League One campaign. However, a number of those players ended the season out on loan, with Christ Makosso, Reuell Walters, Milli Alli, Cauley Woodrow, Jerry Yates, Ethon Archer and Lasse Nordas all playing their football elsewhere, while Thomas Holmes remained in Bedfordshire, unable to find himself a new club.

With the exception of Archer, who impressed during his time at Cheltenham and then Port Vale, it could be that the other seven are all free to leave, with centre half Makosso rumoured to be closing in on a £2m deal to join French Ligue 1 side Auxerre. Although not naming just who would be allowed to seek new employers, Wilshere made it clear that it needs to happen to prevent the squad becoming bloated.

He said: “I was really clear with the group of players you’re talking about. I won’t name them as I don’t think that’s fair to them, but I wanted them to be clear because from my experience as a player, those difficult conversations, they aren’t always nice, but actually at the end of it you’ve got clarity and you understand where you’re at. So I made that clear to them, I made it clear that they can leave and look for somewhere else and if they don’t before pre-season starts, there’ll be another training group.

"It’s really important that we protect what we have and what we’ve built in terms of unity and togetherness, but also we give those players support as well, as if we want to get them out, we need them to be sharp, we need them to be fit, we need them to be ready. It’s more work for us as coaches, but we’re trying to protect that group we’ve got.

“I think we’re close with a couple (leaving). Again, I wouldn’t like to name them because I don’t think that’s fair on them, but that being said, they want to look after their own careers and that’s what I felt straight away when I told them. They all understood, it wasn’t as if we went back and forth, they all completely understood and I’m sure them, plus their agents, are getting to work to try and find the right step for them next.”

Despite knowing they don’t have a future at Kenilworth Road, Wilshere doesn’t think those players who he has informed can move on will make it awkward for those staying when back at the Brache, as he added: “No, because I think me being honest with them straight away after the season helped things.

"Probably they’ve had some time away to reflect and my experience as a player is you always want that clarity. I was clear with them, it’s not because they’re bad eggs or they disrupt the group, it’s simply because we want to protect what we built last season and we need to get players out. They understood that, there’s nothing awkward from my side, they’ll be training this afternoon, I’ll be out there with them and I want the best for them which means we get the best for the club.”