Grimsby Town boss David Artell has said that he wants to sign Luton Town youngster Jayden Luker this summer and is waiting on a response from the Championship club.
Luker, 19, is a player that Grimsby have been rumoured to have been looking at. He has impressed those at Kenilworth Road since joining the club in 2022, and was rewarded with a contract extension in November.
During Luton’s spell in the top flight, he appeared on the bench for Rob Edwards’ side on many occasions, further displaying their belief in Luker.
This point in the window is when lower league clubs start to look at top flight loanees. Clubs like Luton will have a better idea of who is going to be in their plans for the upcoming campaign, and who would benefit from being elsewhere.
Grimsby are looking to capitalise on this timing, with the midfielder being one of the targets in their sights.
Grimsby targeting Luton Town loan move
Artell wants to have Luker in a black and white striped shirt, but he has admitted that he doesn’t expect the teenager to make the move to Humberside.
On Luker, he said, to BBC Humberside Sport: “That’s one of the clubs we’ve spoken about and one of the players we’ve spoken about.
“I think we’ll do exceptionally well if he ends up here, as he’s such a good player. I would imagine he’ll go higher, but we’ve asked and he’s another one that we’re waiting for Luton to get back to us.
“We want to bring in good players to this club that will improve us. We’re hopeful by the end of the week we might have one or two in.”
Luker was loaned out to National League side Woking in January. He registered two goals and one assist in his short-term spell there, and was used either in the middle of the midfield or on the right wing.
The Hatters’ manager touched on what’s ahead of the likes of Luker, as well as other players that are breaking through, like Zack Nelson and Joe Johnson. “They’re great lads, they work incredibly hard, but they’re always progressing and they’ll continue to get better and better,” said Edwards, via Luton Live.
“They’ll be pushing and we’ll try to get the right thing for them, whether that’s a loan or they stay in with the group.
“If they’re staying in with us, I’d like them to try and make some impact with us this season. We’ve got to make the right decision for them, because we’d like them to be playing first-team football, or at least being around it more, and getting more minutes this year.
“The challenge for them is to try and break into our group and if they’re not able to do that then we’ll see if a loan is the right thing. But they’re three really good players that I’m pretty confident are going to impact us in the future.”
Andros Townsend could be set for an exit from Kenilworth Road, with a move to Turkey potentially on the horizon.
A loan move is probably the best thing for Jayden Luker
The Hatters should be, and will hope to be, fighting for promotion back to the Premier League next season. They have plenty of quality still left in their squad, and they’ve proved before how competitive they can be in this division.
Despite being the huge underdogs, Luton weren’t too far from safety last time out.
| Premier League 2023/24 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | P | GD | Pts | |
| 17 | Nottingham Forest | 46 | -18 | 32 |
| 18 | Luton Town | 46 | -33 | 26 |
| 19 | Burnley | 46 | -37 | 24 |
| 20 | Sheffield United | 46 | -69 | 16 |
Unless Luker emerges as a prospect that they simply have to have around the first team, regularly contributing and getting minutes, it’ll be in their and his best interest to send him somewhere that is going to provide him with that opportunity.
Whether Grimsby is the right destination for him is up to Edwards and co to decide on.
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