Town chief wants most of his new signings in place before Spanish trip

Luton boss Jack Wilshere is hoping to have the majority of his squad in place by the time the Hatters head out to Spain for their pre-season training camp in mid-July.

With the Town chief looking to change things up and head away from their traditional trip to Slovenia that has been the club’s regular destination over the last few years, he will take his players to Murcia, a regular haunt for many Premier League teams, as they will play against a yet to be named side out there at the Pinatar Arena on Saturday, July 25, that match open to supporters.

Last week, Wilshere decided to release Zack Nelson, Cohen Bramall and Jacob Brown when announcing his retained list, while Jordan Clark, Liam Walsh and Elijah Adebayo are all discussing new deals. With several players back from loan, plus Thomas Holmes and Shandon Baptiste still having contracts, they currently have a 21-man outfield squad, just one below the 22 allowed to be registered.

Wilshere has already expressed a desire to move a fair few of those on, and will need to in order to free up space to make the kind of signings he believes will see Luton challenge for promotion back to the Championship this term. With that in mind, and the transfer window opening for business on Monday, June 15, the Hatters chief stated he would like to see as much of Town’s recruitment done in the opening month to give them the best possible chance of bonding and getting his ideas across while away.

Explaining to the club’s official website about just why he has opted to alter things this term, Wilshere said: “I’m really excited about that because I know the club has been to Slovenia for the past seven years and had some really good experiences, but I made it clear to the club it's a good idea that we make a change there. Speaking to the players as well, and the leadership group, Kal (Naismith) and Nahki (Wells), all those guys, about pre-season and their experience and we wanted to freshen it up, go to a different environment, play against a different type of position.

"As from day one, I know we're going a little bit later as well, I want to make sure that we've got as much of the squad together for that trip so we can start to work on things that are going to help us in the season, but also to build the unity and togetherness in the group, because that was one of the biggest strengths this season in my opinion.

"When we went through the tough times, that togetherness, that unity that everyone showed and we're going to need that again next year. Pre-season planning is well underway, we've got a couple of friendlies and are looking to plan a couple more. So much goes into that, the coaches have been here for the last 10 days trying to plan that. We have to make sure we plan and deliver a world class pre-season from day one.”

On the two games that have already been announced, against Southern League Division One Central side Hitchin Town and Eredivisie outfit Go Ahead Eagles, Wilshere added: “The Hitchin game I know is quite a traditional one here. I’m a Hitchin boy as well, so it will be quite nice for me. I know there's a connection with Go Ahead Eagles too, so as much as the opposition is really important that we get the right challenge at the right time in pre-season, we also want the fans to be a part of it and the fans to enjoy pre-season with us.

"The behind closed doors friendlies are important that we get those right at the right time as we need to manage players’ minutes. We need to make sure that not just the starting 11 going into the next season, but the whole squad is ready and that's our focus now.”