Luton winger has thankfully seen the light after putting 'dark' times at Boro behind him

Luton winger Izzy Jones has thankfully started to see the light during the last 18 months after coming through what was an incredibly dark time in his career at former club Middlesbrough.

The 25-year-old moved to the Riverside Stadium from non-league side Tooting & Mitcham in 2019 and enjoyed an impressive debut 2021-22 campaign, with nine assists and one goal in his 42 Championship outings. He wasn’t able to carry that kind of form on the following season though, with five assists and three goals from his 34 league appearances, although he went four months without starting a competitive fixture, admitting he had been seriously affected by mental health issues due to a period in his life where he lost several family members in a short space of time.

Fortunately, under the management of Michael Carrick, Jones was able to come through those problems, ultimately earning a move to the Hatters in January, as the pair caught up on the pitch following Saturday’s goalless draw at Kenilworth Road. Asked what was discussed, he said: “He was just seeing how I’m doing and said it was good to see me playing football again.

“Michael’s helped me in the last few years with things I had going on off the pitch in my personal life. He helped me through that and gave me the confidence to come back and start playing football again, so I owe him a lot. He was very important. I remember the first conversation I had when I was going through it, he said I can give you as much time off as you need and I felt like I needed it at the time. As a footballer it's not easy when you're going through stuff off the pitch and fans and people don't know about it, it’s tough.

"When I was playing, my standards were bad, they weren’t up to scratch. I felt like every time I was on the pitch I was in quicksand. Things were going past me. It got to the stage where I had to speak and speak up to the gaffer and I told him what was going on, so I had a couple of months out of the limelight. There were times I wasn’t in the match-day squad, everyone was asking why. but I had a lot of personal things going on, with my missus, family. That time in my career was a dark time but now I’ve seen the light for the last year and a half and I’m just happy to be back playing football and doing what I love.”

Having come back impressively, this term Jones had also found it hard to get into the Boro team, with just nine starts, which saw him eventually move south to join Luton, a decision that has paid off, going on to begin Town’s last seven Championship affairs. On why he decided to leave the club he had spent the past six years at, and very much considered home, he continued: “I wasn’t playing as much as I would like but at the same time you’ve got to look at who your competition is in the team at the time.

"Ben Doak was doing fantastic and he’s going to have a very top, top career. I wanted to play more and I feel like I could have given more, but at times, you’ve got to be selfish and think about yourself. When Luton came with an offer, it was something I couldn’t refuse as I wanted to play football at the end of the day. It’s been good. I played wingback before at Middlesbrough, I enjoy that position and I’m just happy I’m playing. That’s the main thing, every footballer is happy when they’re playing and I’m getting more confident week in week out with the relationships with my team-mates.

"It wasn’t (easy to leave) as Middlesbrough was all I knew, Middlesbrough was basically my home when coming from non-league. I’d always wanted to be a footballer but I realise there’s a lot of dedication and sacrifice you’ve got to put in. I didn’t know where Middlesbrough was when I first heard about it, I thought it was just outside London on the outskirts at the beginning!

“But when I knew how far it was, I think at the time it was best for my career, less distractions and just moving away from home, which is hard for any teenager at the time, but I felt like it was the right step for me to go. I had a couple of loans, first loan (at St Johnstone) didn’t work out, second loan (at Queen of the South) I did well, so when I had the chance to train with the first team I knew this was my chance to take it under Neil Warnock.

"I’ve got to give him the most praise for giving me a chance and luckily I took it. There’s stages in your career where you’re going to have to close that chapter and unfortunately it was January to close the chapter. I’m happy to be at Luton now, happy to be part of this family and hopefully I can give them success on the pitch.”

Jones’ first encounter with his ex-team-mates should have ended in the attacker enjoying a third victory in four games fore the Hatters, only for some poor finishing and the efforts of Boro keeper Mark Travers ensuring Saturday’s clash at Kenilworth Road finished in a disappointing stalemate. On going up against his former side, the winger added: “It’s business. Once I’m on that pitch, friends or not, I want those three points.

"My mentality was yes I’m playing against my old friends and team-mates, but I’m here to win and give the Luton fans something to cheer about. He (Travers) played well, but I’ll put it down to our poor finishing. Thelo’s (Aasgaard) chance the ball bobbles at the wrong time, but these are things we’ve just got to learn and take positives from. At least we’re getting in the right positions, the next thing is just to put the ball into the back of the net.”