Mainz midfielder tipped to cut short his loan at Luton and head back to Germany

Luton’s on-loan midfielder Tom Krauß has been linked with a move back to Germany during the transfer window.

The 23-year-old signed a season-long deal at Kenilworth Road from Bundesliga side FSV Mainz 05 in the summer, although had to wait until late September to make his debut due to an ankle injury picked up before the move was completed. He has gone on to play 23 times for the Hatters, including starting all three matches under new boss Matt Bloomfield, netting his second goal of the campaign with a terrific strike in the 3-2 loss at Oxford United last Tuesday evening.

Although he is third in the number of tackles won in the division with 53, the former German U21 international has been taken off by Bloomfield around the hour mark in the last two matches, including Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Millwall, when he was replaced by Elijah Adebayo. VfL-Magazin journalist Philipp Rentsch is now claiming that Krauß is closing in on a return to his home country, reportedly agreeing a loan move to Bundesliga strugglers Vfl Bochum for the rest of the campaign.

The switch would reunite Krauß with Dieter Hecking, the former Borussia Mönchengladbach player named head coach at Vonovia Ruhrstadion in November, who was sporting director at FC Nürnberg when the midfielder joined on a two-year loan deal back in 2020, as writing on X, Rentsch said: “VfL Bochum has finally found what it was looking for in terms of reinforcements.

"The club will soon announce the signing of Tom Krauß, and the deal is about to be completed. The 23-year-old will be loaned from FSV Mainz 05 until the end of the season. Krauß is to expand the options in central midfield. The loan with Luton Town is ended early. Advantage: Krauß was a regular in England's second division, so he has match experience. In addition: So-called mentality player. He and Hecking know each other from Nuremberg.”

Having signed Kal Naismith and Thelo Aasgaard from Bristol City and Wigan Athletic respectively yesterday, then Bloomfield will need to trim his squad for the remainder of the Championship season, as it now numbers at 26 senior professionals, one more than can be included. Discussing Krauß after the 3-2 loss to Oxford, the Hatters chief had stated: "I think Tom has been fantastic by the way in the first two games. He plays with a real energy, attacking thrust, he picks up second balls really well. There’s a lot to like about his game and he took his goal well.”