Yesterday, and as reported by us earlier today, three Luton players will definitely be leaving Kenilworth Road, this summer.
• Sonny Bradley
• Henri Lansbury
• Harry Isted
The naming of Sonny Bradley was no surprise, he had already made his intent clear in early May – captain-confirms-his-summer-kenilworth-road-departure – and following his announcement he was not to feature again in the starting XI and didn’t make the squad for the EFL Championship Play-Off Final, last weekend, although he did take part in the post-match celebrations.
Indeed, after lifting the gleaming trophy, Sonny is reported by Luton Today, as having remarked:
“In football, considering I didn’t play, that’s probably the best day of my footballing career.
“Just lifting that trophy with this set of lads, absolutely amazing.
“I’ve done League Two, done League One and now I’ve done the Championship, so I’ve got the full set.
“It’s a shame that if I want to play in the Premier League, that’s going to have to be on hold for a bit, but when it comes to the EFL, I’ve done all three now which I’m proud of.”
Bradley has been an influential character in the Hatters dressing room, even more so since taking over the captain’s armband back in 2018.
During his time at Kenilworth Road, he made an impressive 175 appearances, 142 of which were in the EFL during which he scored on 5 occasions and will always be welcomed back by the Hatters support.
As a free agent, with his contract expiring at the end of the month, we’re sure that Sonny will not be short of offers. It remains to be seen where the next chapter of his career takes.
The release of Henri Lansbury, the second on the list, did not come as too much of a surprise, the 32-year-old midfielder barely featured in the latter half of the season with Rob Edwards having settled on his midfield contingent.
The former Arsenal and West Ham midfielder made 48 appearances for Luton, 44 of them in the Football League. In those 44 games he only scored the 1 goal, but it is a goal we’ll all remember with fondness, the absolute beautiful strike against Hull City earlier this season.
Like Sonny Bradley, we’re pretty sure Henri will be the subject of several offers but may have to drop into League 1 at this stage of his career. But where he ends up is something we’ll monitor over the coming weeks and report back further.
The last of the three set to clear their locker is Harry Isted. The 26-year-old goalkeeper is, I feel, the unluckiest of the trio definitely heading for the exit.
My view is that Harry never really got a chance at Luton, in his 6-year stay he only made 6 appearances. At one stage of his spell, he was actually released but re-signed later to offer some goalkeeping cover.
This season he was part of a strange deal that saw Luton sign the Barnsley keeper, Jack Walton, with Harry going on loan to the Yorkshire side. Walton hasn’t featured in the league for the Hatters while Isted featured heavily for Barnsley and starring in the recent EFL League 1 Play-Off Final, performing heroics for the Tykes.
Now a free agent, it would not surprise me if Isted were to sign a permanent deal with the Yorkshire side although, looking at the news today, an article published by Football League World, infers that no talks between Isted and Barnsley have yet taken place.
But, getting to the crux of the article, who do you believe will be missed most by Luton Town FC?
