Luton skipper is desperate for 'irreplaceable' Mpanzu to stay at Kenilworth Road

Town captain wants to see midfielder pen a new contract
Town midfielder Pelly-Ruddock MpanzuTown midfielder Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu
Town midfielder Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu

Town skipper Sonny Bradley is desperate to see team-mate Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu follow his lead and sign a new deal with the Hatters after declaring the midfielder as ‘irreplaceable’.

The 27-year-old is Luton’s longest serving player, having joined initially on loan from West Ham United in December 2013, making the move permanent a month later.

Since then, Mpanzu has become one of the mainstays of the side, racking up 298 appearances and scoring 19 goals, while he has achieved three promotions as well, the only member of the current squad to have been on Luton's journey from the Conference to the Championship.

It wasn't known whether the popular midfielder was out of contract or not in the summer, but according to Bradley that appears to be the case, although he hopes a fresh deal will be concluded swiftly.

The skipper said: “Pell’s been a brilliant asset to this football club, on the pitch his performances speak for themselves.

“For me he's as good as any midfielder in the Championship, and what he brings to this football club is massive, but it's off the pitch as well.

“His character for me it’s irreplaceable at this football club.

"For me, I don't know what's going on with Pell, I haven't spoken with Pell, but I think everybody at Luton and the whole squad will be crossing our fingers and hoping that he signs a new deal.

“I know the fans love him, singing his name, the players, manager, everyone associated with the football club knows how important he is and what part he plays in this football club.

“I think Pell’s a free agent going into the summer, so it wouldn’t surprise me if Pell’s got options as he’s a very, very, very good player.

“But I hope his number one option is to stay with us and I'm crossing my fingers that I’m going to log into my social media account and find out that Pell’s signed a new deal.”

Mpanzu also earned his first call-up to the DR Congo squad earlier this month, for their upcoming friendly against Tunisia.

It means that the Hatters continue to have plenty of international interest going into a summer that contains the delayed Euro 2020 Championships, as Bradley added: “We’ve got a number of internationals now and if you’re getting an international call-up wherever that may be, it means you're doing something right.

"I’m not sure if Pelly has been called up before, if he hasn’t I don’t know why as Pell’s been a tremendous player for this football club over the last few years.

"We’ve got a number of internationals now, Joe (Morrell), Tom (Lockyer), Simon (Sluga), Pell, it means they’re doing something right.

"It’s all good getting called up, but we want to see them play as well, and whenever I get a chance, if it's the Euros or one of Pell’s games, I’ll certainly be tuning in to see how they're doing.”

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