No need for a right back according to Town chief as he rules out selling Jones

Luton boss Jack Wilshere has ruled out the possibility of selling Izzy Jones in the January transfer window, insisting that the winger will be his first choice right back when fully fit.

The 26-year-old moved to Kenilworth Road just over 12 months ago, but suffered a stress fracture to his back in pre-season which kept him out until late October, as once returning and making five appearances, scoring once and gaining an assist, he then picked up an ankle injury in the 5-0 defeat at Barnsley which has seen him sidelined for the last 12 League One matches.

There were rumours yesterday that the ex-Middlesbrough attacker had been attracting interest from Championship side Oxford United, now managed by former Luton chief Matt Bloomfield, with reports of an approach made by the U’s, but they were wide of the mark according to Wilshere.

When asked if an offer had been received, he said: “No, when I say about players leaving and when a new manager comes in he has a certain way of playing, Izzy is someone who I see fitting in perfectly and you probably saw that in the couple of games that he was available. I love Izzy, Izzy’s my right back. He’s been injured, but Izzy Jones is a player that I really like, a player that I think we need in the team and we need to get fit as soon as possible.”

That news won’t go down too well with a number of fans who have been crying out for Town to sign a new right back in the transfer window, as despite Reuell Walters being fit, Wilshere has continued to play Nigel Lonwijk there in recent matches, despite the on-loan Wolverhampton Wanderers defender being a centre half by trade.

However, it’s clearly not an area that the Town chief is looking to bolster, as he highlighted Jones’ attributes in playing that role, continuing: “When I was looking at Izzy before, maybe I was surprised at that but, I remember my first conversation with Izzy, when he was starting to get fit, was ‘what’s your favourite position?’ He told me right back, and I can see why. He’s outstanding in there, he’s one of our best one v one defenders, very rarely does a winger get the better of him.

“I think the beauty with him as you see what we do with JJ (Joe Johnson) and how fluid he is in that position. He’s someone who understands to sometimes be on the outside, sometimes be on the inside, and I think you can use that with Izzy as well on both sides. He can play right wing as well, he can probably play inside that right channel, but if you ask Izzy his preferred position, it will be right back.

"I also would say that I see it that we’ve got four right backs in the building. Nigel, who’s not a right back but can play right back, Hakeem (Odoffin) has played right back and when he’s done that he was outstanding for us against Bolton, against Huddersfield, when we really needed that type of right back, that type of character. We’ve got Reuell Walters in the building and we’ve got Izzy, so we’ve got four right backs in the building who all give you something a little bit different, so I don’t think we need a right back.

There now finally appears every chance that Wilshere will finally get the opportunity to use the Guyana international in his apparently preferred position as well, and soon, as he added: “Izzy trained today for the first time. He’s been in and out of training this week, been working with the medical team for probably two or three weeks to try and get his fitness back, but actually training with the group is where you get that fitness, that sharpness, that rhythm.

"It was his first one today so we’re happy to have him back in training. It was a nasty one and ankles are something I know pretty well. He started to come back a little bit, still had a little bit of pain and he’d catch the ball on the end of his toe, it would open up his ankle, so it’s taken some time but ankles sometimes do.”