Town boss wants to send teenager defender out on loan

Hatters boss Jack Wilshere is expecting to send young defender Christian Chigozie out on loan in a bid to get him used to the challenges of men’s football

The 18-year-old has been with Town since the age of seven, and was an unused substitute in the match-day squad when the Hatters were in the Premier League during the 2023-24 campaign, a time when he was still studying for his GCSEs. He then made his first team debut in the Carabao Cup when the Hatters had been relegated out of the top flight, having the full 90 minutes in a 1-0 defeat against Coventry City during August 2025 when previous manager Matt Bloomfield was in charge.

Chigozie was then named on the bench for the League One trip to Burton Albion, also getting another run-out during a 4-1 victory over Barnet in the Vertu Trophy. However, the former Chiltern Academy student, who was born in Spain but raised in Luton since the age of six, captaining the U18s to an EFL Youth Alliance League and PDL Cup double in 2024-25, then suffered a hamstring injury which blighted his attempts to progress into the first team when Wilshere took over last term.

When recovered, the centre half finished strongly with the U18s and U21s, also penning a new contract to remain at Kenilworth Road in May. Now having trained with the first team ahead of the current campaign, heading out to Spain, Chigozie featured for Luton during several of their pre-season friendlies, also among the substitutes when Town went to Premier League Chelsea in the Carabao Cup second round, although didn’t get on in the battling 2-0 defeat.

With the transfer window now closed, there is a chance for the teenager, who captained the U21s in their 4-0 Premier League Cup defeat against Peterborough United U21s on Monday night, can still head out to a National League side on loan, which is something that Wilshere thinks will be essential for his development, saying: “Chigsy, yes, I want him to go out.

"I want him to play games, I want him to experience men’s football consistently where he’s just got to defend, got to head everything. He’s developed really well since he started training with us. He was injured when we got there and then he started training with us. He’s someone with a lot of potential, a lot of good attributes, he needs to go out and play some games.”