Luton loanee eager to enjoy his football and put his 'stamp' on the Hatters XI

New Luton signing Kasey Palmer is determined to get back to enjoying his football once more while almost putting his stamp on the Hatters XI after moving to Kenilworth Road on loan from Hull City for the rest of the season.

The 29-year-old, who started his career at Chelsea as a youngster where he won the FA Youth Cup and UEFA Youth League, had two spells on loan at Huddersfield Town between 2016-18, part of the side that won the Championship play-off final when beating Reading on penalties at Wembley, going on to make four Premier League appearances for the Terriers.

Since then, Palmer has played all of his career at Championship level for Derby County, Blackburn Rovers, Bristol City, Swansea City, Coventry City and Hull City, whom he joined in August 2024. While at the Tigers, Palmer played 26 times in the second tier last term, with one goal, but had struggled for match action this term, with just 11 outings in all competitions, only five of them from the start.

Asked he is going bring to a Hatters side who are looking to get out of League One at the first time of asking, Palmer who has 29 goals and 29 assists from 268 senior appearances, said: “He’s (Jack Wilshere) going to expect quite a lot, that’s just normal, that’s what managers want from their players that they sign at this time in the season. It’s for me to put my stamp on the team early, try and impress from day one and get the team up the table as much as we can.

"I hope I get a lot of goals, a lot of assists and can contribute to Luton getting back to the Championship where they should be. I will do my best to have an impact on the team and use my experience to help others, but at the same time try and score, assist, be an attacking threat and create chances, and hopefully be winning games so all that stuff comes naturally.

“You look at the squad that’s here and you’d expect play-offs as the bare minimum. I think it’s for the players now to deliver. You can’t always say ‘we’ve got this squad, and we should be here’, you’ve got to deliver. So for me coming in, I’ve got to deliver, that’s just how football is. Hopefully we can try and get automatics, if not the play-offs and give it a right push. I'm buzzing to get it done after the last week or so of the conversations and just can’t wait to get playing again.”

Clearly another big selling point to Palmer was the chance to move back down south once more after 18 months at the MKM Stadium and be with his family once more, something he hadn’t been able to do while with the Tigers. He continued: “It’s a huge thing. It (time at Hull) hasn't gone to plan, it’s been difficult not playing and being so far from home hasn't been ideal.

"Now I’ve got the opportunity to come back home, live at home, be around the family, be on the school run and hopefully start enjoying my football every week. Living so far away, not seeing the kids and family has been difficult, so to get back home, my kids are here now, my missus, so I’m just buzzing to be here and I can’t wait to be back at home and playing football for Luton.”

Although he is only a few years younger than his new manager Jack Wilshere, having seen just what the midfielder achieved in the game, winning 34 caps for England and two FA Cup winners’ medals during his time at Arsenal, considered by many as one of the best players of his generation, then Palmer feels his own game can improve with the Hatters, saying: “I’ve grown up watching him.

"I’m not an Arsenal fan, but I’ve seen him playing for England, so I’m sure he’s got a lot of things I can learn from and a lot of advice that he can give from his playing career. You never stop learning, you can always learn, especially when it’s from someone who’s been there and done it and had the career that he’s had. There's a lot I can take on here and the rest of the coaching staff.”

Another good thing for Palmer, who played for England at youth level before switching his international allegiances to Jamaica, winning 22 caps, is that he won’t be a stranger to his new team-mates either, as on looking to get an immediate debut when Town travel to Plymouth Argyle on Saturday and then running out at Kenilworth Road in orange for the first time in just over a week, he added: “I know Nahki (Wells) and Walshy (Liam Walsh) and played against a few of the lads before.

"There’s been a lot of conversations over the last week and I’m buzzing to get back, playing with them, enjoying my football and hopefully we can get three points on Saturday. I’ve played at Kenilworth Road a few times, it’s always quite a fiesty atmosphere as an away player, so hopefully I’ll be on the right side of it this time and it’s an enjoyable occasion. I actually can’t wait to just be playing football again just knowing I can express myself and feel free and I can’t wait for Saturday to come.”