Out of favour defender leaves Luton as Town agree to terminate his contract

Luton Town have parted ways with defender Thomas Holmes after agreeing to mutually cancel his contract on transfer deadline day.

The 26-year-old had a difficult time at Kenilworth Road after signing from Reading in January 2024 when the club were in the Premier League, sent straight back to the Royals on loan and suffered an injury that meant he played just one more game that term. Holmes finally made his debut when Town were back in the Championship the following campaign when coming on against Portsmouth, going on to turn in a fine performance during the first half of the 3-0 victory over local rivals Watford in October.

He was sent off in the 3-2 defeat at Coventry City the following match, going on to play 20 times that term, scoring his first goal when deflecting in Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu’s shot in the 2-1 success against Derby County. Holmes went to Belgian club FCV Dender in the January transfer window, but injury meant he only played twice for the Belgian Pro League side.

Last term, Holmes featured twice for Luton at the start of the campaign before heading to League One rivals Rotherham United on loan in September, but suffered an injury in his first game and after returning over two months later, found it difficult, as he didn’t have his loan extended for the second half of the campaign, making just nine appearances in total.

Having not been given a squad number this season, Holmes, who featured 22 times in total for Luton, can now seek new employers, as a statement from the Hatters said: “We can confirm that Luton Town Football Club has agreed with Thomas Holmes to mutually terminate the defender’s contract. We thank Thomas for his efforts in a Luton shirt and he departs with our best wishes for his future career.”