Young striker could be contention for Town's crucial Easter period after signing new deal with Luton
Lynch recalled from loan spell at Hemel Hempstead
Luton academy graduate Oli Lynch could be in contention to feature in Town’s final four games of the Championship season after being recalled from his loan spell at Hemel Hempstead Town and signing a new contract with the Hatters this morning.
The 20-year-old joined his boyhood club as an U14, impressing as a scholar and starring in the youth’s team run to the FA Youth Cup fifth round in the 2022-23 campaign. He featured in the U21s’ Premier League Cup campaign last term, also having a loan spell at Southern League Premier Central side Hitchin Town too during the closing months of the campaign.
This term, Lynch caught the eye when heading to Isthmian League Premier Division side Dulwich Hamlet, playing for ex-Town first team coach Hakan Hayrettin when he was at the helm, before moving to the National League South Tudors in the new year, scoring an impressive 11 goals in 18 outings. He is now back at Kenilworth Road though, and with Elijah Adebayo and Jacob Brown both out for the season, Luton struggling desperate to score the goals needed to stay up, they could turn to the self-confessed Hatters fan to play a part when heading Derby County tomorrow and then hosting Bristol City on Monday.
Boss Matt Bloomfield said: “There’s a possibility, hence why we recalled him. We’ve obviously got injuries at the top of the pitch with Eli and Browny, and with Alfie’s (Doughty) injury it means we’ve got use one of our attackers as a wingback as well, so that plays into the situation as we saw last weekend when we kind of ran out of attackers a little bit. Lynchy’s been out scoring goals, he’s still got a lot to learn, but we felt like the last couple of weeks of the season it would be sensible of us to have him around and ready to contribute should he be required.
“I think we need numbers at this moment in time With it being a Bank Holiday weekend, anything can happen in between Friday and Monday so we need to plan ahead slightly as well, just in case we pick anything up tomorrow. It’s sensible for us to have Lynchy in and around it. He’s been out scoring goals, he’s signed his new contract and he’s trained with us quite a bit recently so we felt it was right to have him with us.”
On what kind of player Town fans can expect to see should he make his first team debut over the Easter period, Bloomfield continued: “He’s got good physicality. He can run beyond, he can get on the end of crosses, he can finish, we can see that in training, we can see that out on his loan as well. I don’t want to heap too much expectation on him as he’s a young boy learning his trade, but we’ve been to see him a couple of times, Mick’s (Harford, chief recruitment officer) been to see him play as well, and he’s been in and around our first team group. He’s a forward who wants to score goals so it seems sensible to have him with us.”
With Bloomfield having already given minutes to Zack Nelson and Joe Johnson since he took over, then he was keen to highlight the opportunity to bring players through from the Hatters’ youth set-up, saying: “It’s important that as a club we recognise the great work going on in our academy, and it’s credit to the coaches working with our young players that Zack Nelson and Joe Johnson have featured regularly in the first team this season.
"Like those two, Oli is still learning his trade, but we see a lot of potential in him and we are really excited about the next stage of his development. I’ve been really impressed with Oli since we came in. His attitude is first class and as he’s shown in his loan spell at Hemel Hempstead, he knows where the back of the net is. The progress he’s made in recent months is impressive, but we know – and most importantly he does too – that there is still a lot of work to do.”
Academy boss and former Town striker Paul Benson is clearly a fan of the forward too, saying: "Lynchy has a perfect profile for a modern-day number nine. He ticks all the boxes and everything you look for in a centre forward. He’s been developing really well during a couple of loans, and is now starting to add goals to his game. Like a lot of centre forwards, his development will continue as he gets older and learns the game, but he’s showing really good signs and I’m delighted that he’s committed to the club for the immediate future.”
Meanwhile, Lynch himself added: “I’m so happy to sign a new contract. To stay at such a great club, and hopefully make an impact in the future and push on and progress as a player and a person, I couldn’t be in a better place.”