Town midfielder jokes hard-working new Hatter would 'catch pigeons' if he could

The incessant work-rate that was promised when new striker Jerry Yates arrived at Kenilworth Road has already been noted by long-serving midfielder Jordan Clark.

The 28-year-old became Town’s 10th signing of the summer recently as Luton shelled out an undisclosed fee to Championship outfit Swansea City just before the AFC Wimbledon game earlier this month to bring in a forward who has a proven record in League One, scoring 20 goals in 44 outings during the 2020-21 campaign when he helped Blackpool go up through the play-offs.

Boss Matt Bloomfield described his new recruit as a real ‘Luton-type player’ when he joined on the dotted line, stating that Yates ‘doesn’t stop running’ either, going on to hand him an instant debut in Saturday’s 2-0 win against Peterborough United in which he played the opening 71 minutes alongside strike partner Nahki Wells before making way.

Clark, who went on net the second goal of the afternoon at the Weston Homes Stadium, has already been hugely impressed by just what Yates will add to his side’s attacking threats this term, saying: “He’ll be a massive signing. He’s a real workhorse which we love. We said to him that he would catch pigeons, he runs around that much! But it’s just down to us to get him some goals and feed him as much as we can as we know he’ll make the runs.

"He’s very unselfish and the main thing about him is he’s a great lad as well which is what Luton always do. They always sign great people and great players, so I’m just looking forward to playing with him, Nahki as well. We’ve got a real strong squad now, you can see on the bench today, we’ve got a lot of lads who are chomping at the bit to play which is really good. Competition is really good and it will keep everyone who’s starting on their toes.”

Although he had stated in his pre-match press conference that Yates would need time to get up to speed, the forward was thrown in immediately at Peterborough, as although he was caught offside on occasions in the first period, he showed signs of just why he was signed after the break, almost getting in behind the Posh defence when Town looked to catch their opponents out.

Summing up his first outing in a Hatters shirt, Bloomfield himself added: “Jerry hasn’t played any minutes at all in pre-season, but he’s done six weeks of training and we felt having him and Nahki on the pitch would give us a real know-how and experience with the timing of their runs in behind. Jerry was caught offside a couple of times, but I think we saw in the 15, 20 minutes he was on in the second half, a little glimpse of what we hope him and Nahki both being on the pitch at the same time can really give to us.”