Nathan Jones is not worrying that Leicester might recall Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall after Rhys Norrington-Davies’ loan was cut short so he could move to Stoke City – a move that the Luton boss hinted was not his parent club Sheffield United’s choice.
There had been speculation that both players would have their season-long loan spells ended, and that proved correct for defender Norrington-Davies who, in the same day, swapped clubs.
Leicester now have injury concerns with midfielder Dennis Praet facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines and some reports have earmarked Dewsbury-Hall as the man to step into the Belgian’s boots.
The 22-year-old has been a revelation for Luton and asked if he was concerned about losing his other loan star during this transfer window, Hatters boss Jones said: “I’m not worried about it.
“I hope it doesn’t happen but I’m not worried about it because he’s in a good place. Rhys was in a wonderful place and that’s the frustrating thing.
“Why do people go out on loan? One, it’s to get experience. If they go to the right club they get educated, they improve and then they come back into the parent club fold, a better asset and more ready for the first team.
“The rate that Rhys was developing here was phenomenal here. He was still learning, because he’s got a lot to learn and, yeah, it’s disappointing but some things are out of your hands and some things are not always purely the parent club’s choice as well.
“There’s no point crying about it. We move on. We’re not a one-man team. We’re not going to suddenly be the polar opposite to what we normally are because we’ve lost Rhys Norrington-Davies.
“We’ve enhanced his career no end, so let’s not forget that, but we move on.”
While Luton were playing out a 2-0 Championship defeat to Queens Park Rangers, a video surfaced online of Norrington-Davies giving his first interview as a Stoke player.
The left back – who made his senior Wales international debut during his 19-game spell at Kenilworth Road – said that City are a better “stepping stone” towards his dream of becoming a Premier League player, also suggesting the Potters formation would suit him better.
Jones said: “He’s playing in 4-3-3 here every week. He gets worked, he gets educated. If he wanted to go to Stoke that’s his choice.
“I can’t comment on that because, without being disrespectful, the boy’s gone through the roof here, in terms of where he is and his education.
“So, if he thinks it’s going to be continued better there then that’s totally his choice. I’ve made similar choices and whether they were right or wrong, I can’t cane him for it.
“In all honesty, whatever system he prefers to play in, he was playing here. If he wants to play as a left back or a wing back, he’s done both for us here.
“And we’ve done very well for him, so I’m not sure the logic of that, but I haven’t read the story, so I’m not going to comment.
“We wish him well. He’s done well for us and we knew there’s always that threat when you take a loan signing and that’s why we don’t like it.
“Look, he’s done well for us, we’ve done well for him so let’s shake hands, move on and go on to the next one.”
But the sudden departure of Norrington-Davies means Luton will now try to delve into the transfer market.
“We’ll need to strengthen in certain areas because of the events of yesterday,” he said, adding: “We’ll see. If there’s something to do, we will. If not, there’s no point wasting money or bringing in numbers because we don’t need numbers.
“What we’ve got to do is make sure we have a real level of quality and if there’s something that will improve us, we’ll go for it.”
Asked whether Norrington-Davies’ exit will change the club’s view of chasing loan signing, Jones said: “It won’t change our stance on loans because we don’t like doing them. If we feel the player is worth something because they’re adding something then we take them.”
