O's boss overtakes ex-Arsenal midfielder as the favourite for Luton job
Wellens takes over from Wilshere in the odds
Leyton Orient manager Richard Wellens has become the bookies’ favourite to be named new Luton Town boss, overtaking former Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere.
With the ex-England player, who was in charge of the Gunners’ U18s and Norwich City for two games as caretaker, the early frontrunner, he has now dropped out to 3/1, with Wellens as short as 5/6 with BetVictor. The 45-year-old began his playing career at Manchester United, making one substitute appearance for the Red Devils in a 3-0 League Cup defeat to Aston Villa in October 1999, leaving for Blackpool in 2000.
He won promotion via the play-offs in 2001 while at Bloomfield Road, before heading to Oldham Athletic in 2005 and Doncaster Rovers in 2007, helping the club reach the Championship for the first time in 50 years. Wellens moved to Leicester City in 2009 for a fee of just over £1m, playing alongside ex-Hatter Steve Howard, named the Foxes Player of the Year in 2011, as he finished his career with stints at Ipswich Town, Doncaster for a second time, Oldham, Shrewsbury Town, Salford City and Macclesfield Town, eventually retiring in 2017.
Wellens' first role in management came when he returned to Oldham as first team manager in September 2017, leaving when the Latics were relegated to League Two, as he then took over at Swindon Town in the summer of 2018, masterminding the Robins to the 2019-20 League Two title on PPG during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He left Swindon to become Salford City boss in November 2020, but was relieved of his duties after just six months despite winning the rearranged 2019–20 EFL Trophy. In May 2021, Wellens became manager of former club Doncaster, but was sacked six months later and then appointed as Leyton Orient head coach in March 2022.
He won the EFL League Two Manager of the Month award for August 2022, and steered the O’s to promotion back into League One, signing a new three year contract at the end of the 2023–24 season, following an 11th place finish in the third tier. This season, Orient sit 18th in the table after losing their last three league games, although they did beat Crawley Town 2-1 in the Vertu Trophy on Tuesday. To see all the odds for the Luton job, click here.