Luton Town are back in the Championship after just one season in the Premier League, but there are still plenty of reasons to be positive at Kenilworth Road this summer.
The Hatters put up a good fight in the top-flight, outperforming their fellow newly-promoted clubs Burnley and Sheffield United, and earned plaudits for the way they performed, especially as they were many people’s favourites to finish bottom.
Rob Edwards will be looking to make an immediate return to the Premier League this season, and his side are well-placed to do so, particularly with parachute payments meaning they can outspend the majority of their Championship rivals.
With money to spend, Edwards could look to replace existing players at the club this summer, and with this in mind, here are the players who need a big pre-season to avoid missing out on the squad, or could even end up being sold.
Louie Watson
The Hatters signed midfielder Louie Watson in the summer of 2022, and if the 23-year-old is to have any kind of long-term career at Kenilworth Road, this summer will be crucial. Watson has only appeared in nine games for Luton since signing from Derby County in July 2022, and those nine games were all played during the team’s 2022–2023 promotion-winning season. The former Republic of Ireland U21 international played 27 games for the Addicks during his loan stint in League One during the 2023–2024 season.
Watson should be playing football regularly at this point in his career, which is why he should go on a permanent basis if he can’t make an impression on Edwards’ squad this summer. Watson is 23 years old. Nonetheless, there’s a potential the midfield player will contribute to Luton’s roster the following season if he can make an impression during preseason training. But it seems like Watson’s last shot to salvage his career at Luton.
Allan Campbell
Another one of Luton’s returning loan brigade, this summer feels like a decisive point for Allan Campbell’s Hatters career. The midfielder joined Luton in the summer of 2021, and he played an important role for the club during their time in the Championship, but he was deemed surplus to requirements following their promotion to the Premier League. Campbell joined Millwall on loan for the 2023/24 campaign but made just 12 league appearances for the Lions in what was a disappointing campaign.
The former Scotland international will soon return for preseason training, where he hopes to prove to Edwards his true abilities. Campbell has 86 Luton appearances to his credit, so a strong preseason should increase to that total, but if he doesn’t perform well, he might be shipped out once more, as he was the previous season.
Cauley Woodrow
Since joining the Hatters in the summer of 2022, striker Cauley Woodrow has been far from prolific, and has scored just six goals in his 61 appearances for the club. This is a big cry from his form at Barnsley, where he scored 53 goals in 157 appearances, and you feel as if this is a critical summer for the 29-year-old at Kenilworth Road.
Despite playing 24 Premier League games and making frequent appearances for Luton last season, Woodrow only started two of them and scored one goal overall. The former Fulham player has a busy few weeks ahead of him, and it wouldn’t be shocking if he left the team this summer if he doesn’t do well in the preseason. Woodrow has scored 46 goals in 213 games in the Championship, so we know what he is capable of. In the upcoming weeks, he will be looking to show the Luton coaching staff that he is a valuable addition.
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