Luton defender vows 'best is yet to come' after reaching 400 club appearances

Luton defender Amari’i Bell insists the ‘best is yet to come’ after reaching his 400th club appearance during Luton’s 1-1 Premier League draw against Burnley recently.

The 29-year-old started out with Birmingham City as a trainee, going on to have a loan stint at Nuneaton, where he made his senior debut on August 10, 2013 in a 1-0 win at Macclesfield. He also had spells with Kidderminster, Mansfield, Swindon and Gillingham, before joining Fleetwood in May 2015, spending two and a half years with the Cod Army, playing 137 times and scoring seven goals. A move to Blackburn Rovers followed in January 2018, as he spent over three years at Ewood Park, with 99 outings, as Bell eventually headed to Kenilworth Road under previous manager Nathan Jones in the summer of 2021.

Since then, the Jamaican international has become a mainstay of the Town team, with 100 league appearances, 116 in total, scoring twice, while has featured on 15 occasions in the Premier League this term after recovering from an injury that kept him out for over a month. After reaching the milestone, Bell tweeted: “I’m grateful to hit this milestone last week, the best is yet to come. Through pain you can achieve greatness. 400 up.”

Replying to him, the Professional Footballers’ Association said: “Congratulations Amari'i. Great achievement.” Meanwhile, @LTFC_1885 added: “Congrats Amari'i!”. @JoeDavis6: Great achievement mate.” @kamsansi: “Well done Amari'i. Classy player! Long time before Bell for the last lap!” @ChrisBovril: “Class stuff Amari'i. Top player, top bloke.” @Up_North_Trips: “Congrats, Amari’i. Proper player..” @JohnDanielCross: “Great achievement Amari' ... onwards and upwards my friend!” @hussain_master: “What a great achievement.” @JohnCon53244501: “Outstanding.”