Luton Town have signed Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Elliot Thorpe on a free, with the Wales Under-21 international turning down a new contract with the Premier League outfit in order to establish himself as a first-team player.
The 20-year-old turned had been at Spurs since 2013 and progressed through the ranks to their Under-23 side, but recognised that first-team chances in north London would be hard to come by outside occasional cup game opportunities.
There had been reports yesterday of an imminent deal with the Hatters, despite interest from Cardiff City and Burnley and Town boss Nathan Jones confirmed that negotiations were taking place, having invited him to train with the club in April and May.
After sealing his switch, Thorpe said: “I’m delighted to be here, it has been a long process but one that is definitely going to be worth the wait. I’m joining a club with a really good manager, a great group of players and I just think it fits me.
“I had a meeting with the manager and I knew straight away that Luton was the place for me. He has told me what it’s like here, what the group is like and just the whole feel of the club feels right for me. It is a great opportunity for me so I just have to grab it with both hands.”
Thorpe, took to Twitter yesterday to confirm his exit from Tottenham and today he told Luton’s website: “That is where I have grown from a boy into a young man, and I will always be grateful to Tottenham for everything they have done for me on and off the pitch.
“They have really good staff, really good players and good people as well, not just on the pitch. Of course, it was a tough decision, and not one I took lightly. But I think in a bit of time, it will be the right one.
“This is solely about wanting to play first-team football. With Tottenham I understand it is very difficult to be the one to break through. You might get a game here and there in a cup, but I want to be established and playing week-in, week-out, which is why I have come to Luton.”
After making his ninth new signing this term, Hatters boss Jones said: “Elliot is someone we’ve monitored for a while now. We identified him a little while ago and Tottenham allowed us to have him in for a few days’ training to see how his character is and so on, so we are delighted now to sign him.
“He’s young and a very technically gifted midfield player. We try to cover all our groups, but we haven’t got many of that 18, 19, 20, 21 age group that are pushing first team, and Elliot is one that is in that group.
“We’ve covered all the others. We’ve got good experience, we’ve got real good players in the prime of their careers, and we’ve got ones who represent real value – 22, 23, 24 year-olds.
“So it’s just the younger group now that we really need to fill and Elliot comes in as a first team professional to challenge what we have here. He’ll need game time in the development squad, but he’s someone we’ll bring into the first team and we are delighted to have him.”
1 Trackback / Pingback
Comments are closed.