Wilshere happy at Luton as Hatters boss reportedly turns down Leicester approach
Town chief staying put ahead of League One campaign
Luton boss Jack Wilshere has reportedly turned down an approach by Leicester City to become the Foxes’ new head coach.
The 34-year-old took over at Kenilworth Road back in October when previous manager Matt Bloomfield was sacked due to a poor start to the campaign and after taking some time to improve results on a consistent basis, did so during the final stages of the campaign, leading Town to a hugely impressive 12-game unbeaten run, with nine victories, as they finished just one point outside of the play-off places in seventh spot.
He also picked up the first piece of silverware of his managerial career, lifting the Vertu Trophy when beating Stockport County 3-1 at Wembley in April, as the manner in which Town finished the campaign has given supporters a real sense of real optimism about what could be achieved going into the 2026-27 campaign.
Wilshere’s impact at Luton clearly hasn’t gone unnoticed either, with Leicester reportedly showing an interest in the former England and Arsenal star, after Gary Rowett left the club following their relegation to League One. It capped a remarkable fall from grace for the King Power Stadium outfit who won the Premier League title back in 2016, but will now find themselves in direct opposition to the Hatters this season.
With Marti Cifuentes sacked in January, Gary Rowett took over, but couldn’t keep the club up, as the Foxes, who were docked six points for financial breaches, eventually finished in 23rd place, five points adrift from safety. The BBC reported over the weekend that they approached Luton for Wilshere to fill the vacancy, only for the Hatters manager to rebuff their interest, stating he is happy at Town, remaining focused on carrying out the work he has already started.
There were also reports that Wilshere, who made his first signing of the summer last week when bringing in former Bolton defender George Johnston, also persuading both Jordan Clark and Liam Walsh to extend their stints in Bedfordshire, didn’t want to move to another club at the same level, which has seen Leicester now turn their attentions to former Southampton and Rangers manager Russell Martin.
Speaking back in May after beating Bolton Wanderers 3-2 only to miss out on the top seven due to Stevenage’s late goal against Wigan Athletic, Wilshere had openly discussed just how much he wanted to deliver Championship football to the club he had a brief spell with as a youngster before heading to the Emirates Stadium, plus his time in charge so far, saying: “There is a good feeling from me, I’m more motivated than ever.
"I know so much more about this league now, I know so much more about this club. I know the demands of the fans and work will start straight away. We’ll start looking to next season, trying to improve and trying to find ways we can get out of this division. We’ve had ups, we’ve had downs and I’ve enjoyed every moment.
"I’ve had the time of my life, the whole time, but especially the last couple of months where the players started to find some rhythm, started to find some momentum and I’m sure that if we’d have got in the play-offs, no-one would have wanted to play us. That’s credit to the players, what they’ve created and how they’ve turned things around because that takes resilience. I’ve genuinely loved it and I’m so hungry for more.”