Town manager on 'calculated decision' to allow Kioso to join MK Dons

Luton boss Nathan Jones stated it was a ‘calculated decision’ to allow defender Peter Kioso to join MK Dons in a loan deal on transfer deadline day last week.

The 22-year-old might have expected to feature more regularly in the Hatters first team this season as after making just two appearances last term ahead of stints at Bolton Wanderers and Northampton Town, he playing four times in the opening six matches.

Kioso started the excellent 1-0 win at Barnsley, with a starring role at the back, as he then kept his place against Birmingham City, but was taken off with just 27 minutes gone as the hosts went 2-0 behind, eventually crashing to a 5-0 defeat.

However, a quiet final 12 hours of the transfer window saw the former Dunstable Town and Hartlepool full back return to Stadium MK and rejoin a club he spent time at the academy with before being released in 2017.

On why he agreed to let Kioso go, Jones said: “We make very calculated decisions here, we have a process and we have another recruitment meeting today.

“The transfer window is when, 90 days away? But we have another recruitment meeting now and it is the first stage of the next stage.

“Was Pete going to play before (James) Bree, no.

“Is he going to play before Jordan Clark, probably not.

“When would we play Pete? We play Pete when we need a real defensive performance because he is a fantastic defender.

“He needs to develop in certain areas, we’ve sent him out to a club where we think he is going to develop.

“He had a number of options and he chose to go there and wanted to go there above others, it is all part and parcel.

“If Pete is not going to get 20 games from now until Christmas in our team, then we will loan him out because others will get 20 odd games in our team.”

Jones didn’t think the move would leave Town light in the right back area either, as he continued: “A lot of people have said about that but he needs to play lots of games and we have two wonderful right-backs here.

“Jordan Clark is as good a right-back as there is in the Championship, it is just he is an excellent midfield player and excellent right winger.

“When people say we haven’t got cover in that area, no we haven’t got cover, we’ve got two excellent right-backs.”