Luton Town boss Matt Bloomfield says it was “the right deal for the football club” after Alfie Doughty completed his move to Millwall and that he is in the market for a replacement
The 24-year-old left wing-back, who was a key figure in Town’s promotion years and played in the Premier League last season, made clear he wanted to join the Lions, which he did on Monday for an undisclosed sum.
Doughty was withdrawn from Saturday’s final pre-season preparation game as the Hatters drew 0-0 with Premier League Tottenham Hotspur, which was soon followed by reports of a switch to south London.
With the player gone, Luton are expected to bring in cover at left wing-back and Bloomfield said: “I would suggest that we would like to bring a left wing-back in to replace Alf, because having that balance of a left footer and someone who can go and attack down that side is something we want.”
On Doughty’s long-expected exit, Bloomfield also told a media conference: “Obviously a fantastic move for Alfie, where he’s a boyhood club. He made it clear that he wanted to go and join Millwall. We retained an interest in his future financially. We wish him all the best.”
Speculation over Doughty’s future had lingered for some time and Bloomfield confirmed: “There’s been speculation surrounding Alf probably for the whole of last summer, as well as this summer, since he had that season in the Premier League where he performed so well. That’s surrounded him for over a year.”
He revealed the club had to manage Doughty carefully in recent weeks, saying of the situation that arose before the Spurs game: “Once that transfer speculation started accelerating, the risk to his hamstring and how we were trying to build him up became too great. We’ve got our own season to concentrate on, so the decision was made to pull him out the team.”
Bloomfield admitted it was difficult to stand in the way of a player who had expressed a desire to leave.
“He was such a huge part of the promotion years. I’m sure he’ll be remembered so well for them and the year in the Premier League too. If anyone’s going to move on, it has to be right for the football club, but when a move means so much to the player, there’s usually one outcome,” the manager admitted.
