“Crazy” – that was Tom Krauß’s assessment of his impressive Luton Town debut as he came off the bench as one of the substitutes that helped steal victory from the jaws of defeat against Sheffield Wednesday.
The Hatters had just conceded an 52nd minute opener to Owls playmaker Barry Bannan and, after a poor first half performance, were staring down the barrel of what would have been a record-setting third straight home defeat at the start of a season.
But on the hour mark boss Rob Edwards called for the German midfielder, signed on loan from Bundesliga club Mainz but with an ankle injury, and he replaced Marvelous Nakamba as part of a triple change which also saw Zack Nelson and Carlton Morris enter the fray.
While the latter bagged a later brace, first from the spot after Di’Shon Bernard was sent off for handball, Krauß helped drive the team on and he instantly made himself a fan favourite with an all-action display that saw him thunder into challenges and rile up the home crowd at any opportunity.
It was the 23-year-old’s first taste of English football and he said: “It was crazy, it was 30 minutes, I’m really tired now as it was a tough week for me. I was four weeks out of training, it was my first week with the team and I’m really happy to win this game after a not so good game… I’m now really happy to be here in this crazy club.”
Krauß has had to bide his time since coming to Luton, as he recovered from an injured sustained in training at Mainz, but after getting the call to come on against Sheffield Wednesday, he said: “I was really excited, I waited for that for four weeks now and I said to Rob, ‘let me play.’ It was really great for me to win this game and to see the fans, to celebrate with the fans. I love that, to celebrate with the fans, to see the fans after the game when they are really happy. It’s the best feeling in football when you win games.”
Krauß became the first German to play for the Hatters, and he admitted that he has always seen England as the place he wanted to come and play his football, while he got to see more about Luton from their season in the top flight last term.
“I knew about the stadium and the Premier League, but when I had the conversation with Rob, I saw a lot of videos on YouTube, especially when they got promoted to the Premier League. I saw a lot of games to see the fans, see the club,” he said.
Krauß has now embraced the unique atmosphere at Luton’s Kenilworth Road, which has a very different feel from stadiums in Germany. He said: “It’s a little bit different from Germany to here. You have the fence more near to the pitch, while in Germany it’s a little bit too far, five, 10 metres. Here you have one metre, that’s why I’m here, to play with the fans. I say to my dad when I was watching against Queens Park Rangers, I said it is a crazy atmosphere, you need to come.”
He revealed he had a phone call with his father after the final whistle, saying: “For me, I celebrate with my family on my phone. My dad said congratulations, I’m really happy for you, when I see a smile on your face I’m really happy. That’s an important thing—to make my family proud, and they’re really proud of me.”
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