Luton sell ex-Manchester United winger to Sheffield United for an undisclosed fee

Luton winger Tahith Chong has joined Championship outfit Sheffield United for an undisclosed fee.

The 25-year-old moved to the Hatters from Birmingham City in the summer of 2023, when Town were about to embark on their Premier League campaign, going on to make 33 top flight appearances, scoring four goals, including a wonderful counter-attacking move against Liverpool. Following Luton’s relegation to the Championship, the ex-Manchester United and Feyenoord youngster struggled last term though, with two goals and one assists from 30 outings as they finished third bottom and were relegated to League One.

Chong, who played 69 times for the Hatters, with seven goals, hadn’t featured this campaign after suffering an injury when returning to pre-season, but despite that, he has been snapped up by Sheffield United side who have started with four defeats so far under manager Ruben Selles, the ex-Reading and Hull chief replacing Chris Wilder in June, including a Carabao Cup exit to Birmingham City.

Announcing his departure a club statement from the Hatters said: “We can confirm that midfielder Tahith Chong has been transferred to Sheffield United for an undisclosed fee. The 25-year-old joins the Championship club after spending two years with the Hatters since signing from Birmingham City in the summer of 2023.

"He made 69 appearances over his two campaigns with the Town and scored seven goals, including an iconic finish against Liverpool in a 1-1 draw at Kenilworth Road that was voted our Goal of the 2023/24 Season by the Luton Town Supporters’ Trust. Tahith leaves with our thanks for his service and best wishes of all at the Club for his future career.”

Discussing his move with the Blades’ official website, Chong, who has penned a deal until 2029, said: "I am very happy that this was done so quickly and that I'm here now. I'll be honest, as I'm speaking right now, it has been 48 hours or so, so everything has moved very quickly, and that's compliments to the club as well to get everything sorted out so quick. When you think of Sheffield United, you think of a big club and as soon as I heard, I was obviously very interested and very keen to sign. I've had two years at Luton, had some ups and downs, but now 100 per cent ready for a fresh start."

Although Chong, who had played for the Netherlands at U15 to U21s level, hadn’t featured for Town yet this season, he was called up by the country of his birth, Curacao, for their World Cup qualifiers against Trinidad & Tobago and Bermuda next month. Discussing that, Luton boss Matt Bloomfield had said: “Brilliant and I think he said he’s got a nan who will get to watch him play. For any player to represent the country of his birth is amazing and for him, a really proud moment.”