Town chief will take his time with 'outstanding' teen ace Benagr

Hatters boss Jack Wilshere has stated he will take his time with exciting Town teenager Benny Benagr despite understanding the clamour for him to be involved in the first team after an exciting pre-season campaign.

The 18-year-old, who joined the club as an U7, penned his first pro deal along with fellow teenager Christian Chigozie back in February 2025, although spent most of last year out with an injury, only able to return in the latter stages of the season. Highly thought of at Kenilworth Road, Benagr, a former Cardinal Newman pupil, went out to Spain as part of the first team’s training camp recently, where he got some minutes in the 2-0 victory over Al Kholood.

Back in England, Benagr lined up for the Hatters in a behind closed doors pre-season friendly against Walsall, proving to be one of the stars of the show, as speeding away on the left, he scored one and set up two, teeing up Devante Cole and Shayden Morris to find the net in a thumping 5-0 victory. He was at it again at the weekend against Go Ahead Eagles B team, providing assists for Morris and George Saville, then named on the bench for the match against the Eredivisie's senior side the next day.

With Wilshere stating he was after a left-winger this term, unable to acquire Emilio Lawrence on loan from Manchester City at the time of writing, then with the club’s official X page showing highlights of Benagr’s exploits against the Sadlers, several supporters were quick to suggest that the teenager should be considered as an option for that position when the Hatters begin their campaign at Gillingham in the Carabao Cup this weekend.

However, the Hatters chief, who is well versed at developing players, having been U18s head coach before at Arsenal, knows it’s not always as simple as just putting a youngster into the first team, saying: “He needs time and you know me, I’m a big believer in experiencing things before explanation, and I also like to think that I give players time.

"When Emilio (Lawrence) came in last year, he played four games and that wasn’t easy for him, he came out of the team, understood what he needed to do and got himself back into the team. So he (Benagr) could potentially do that with us, or go out on loan, we need to see where we are towards the end of the window and make that decision. As yes, it is about us and the team improving, but it’s also about his career and how do get the best version of Benny when he’s 19, 20? We’ll make that decision when it comes.”

Although he faces a decision on just what kind of role Benagr will have this term, there is no doubting just how much the teenager has caught the eye of the former Arsenal and England star during his time at the Brache, as Wilshere added: “He’s been outstanding. First of all he was with the academy at the start of pre-season, because he had a difficult year last year, he never got going. The year before that, everyone was excited about him and then last year, a few injuries, it was difficult for him.

"We wanted to give him the best opportunity to have a good pre-season. He started it with the academy, then we took him to Spain, and day one in Spain, the boys were up at 6am and he’s probably never experienced something like that. You could see straight away he was struggling, of course he was, it was tough for him, but he didn’t give up, he kept going, he kept going through it. Then he’s had the opportunity to play in some games and the first one was Al Kholood.

“He probably should have scored there, but you saw glimpses and he’s grown in confidence since he’s been training with us. He still needs some time, of course he does, he’s young and he’s only been with us for a couple of weeks, but he’s shown moments and glimpses of what he can do. Physically as well, with his running capability, his physical side is a top, top level, so we need to work with him and help him improve. Let’s see, it might be a good loan for him, or he could stay with us, we haven’t decided that yet.”