Luton boss Matt Bloomfield says a minor calf injury to new signing Ali Al-Hamadi played a decisive role in the club being able to secure the Ipswich Town striker on loan for the season.
The the Iraqi international has been one of the manager’s top targets this summer, but with interest from clubs, including some in Europe, a move looked unlikely until the weekend, with Town finally getting their man on transfer deadline day.
Bloomfield has described the deal as a major coup for the club and a “signing of intent” when the Luton confirmed the move, while reports from Suffolk and Sky Sports claimed the deal contains an obligation to buy, suggesting a permanent deal could be worth around £3million.
“We hope Ali’s going to be here for a long time and wants to be a big player for our football club,” Bloomfield said last night. “He’s injured right now. He’s got a calf injury. I’m not sure exactly how long it’s going to be. It’s not long term, but he’ll be out for a little while. We don’t expect to see him for the next fixture.
“Earlier in the summer, he had a lot of interest from higher up the food chain and abroad for a lot higher price than what we were able to get him for. So it’s a necessary evil. We believe we were able to get him because he’s carrying an injury right now. But on the other side, you’re not going to have him immediately.
“We want him to be a big part of our future. We’ve been chasing him most of the summer. He wasn’t available until over the weekend, so we had a decision to make if we want him to be a part of our future. We decided that we want him to be here, so we take him with that.”
Bloomfield, who played with Al-Hamadi at Wycombe, admitted he had been “blowing his phone up most of the summer” to get the deal done and praised both the striker’s character and his potential.
“As a guy, I think a lot of him as a character, his work-rate, the way he goes about his work, the way he carries himself,” the manager said. “He’s still got loads of development in him. He’s still a young man who’s just been in an elite environment at Ipswich with some fantastic players around him, and he’s certainly grown as a person and as a player. He’s someone I think a lot of, and we’re really excited to have him here to add him to our group.”
Al-Hamadi admitted yesterday that he believes the Hatters are the “perfect match”. The 23-year-old forward has enjoyed a rapid rise through the leagues in the past 18 months, going from AFC Wimbledon in League Two to Ipswich Town and the Premier League in barely a year.
But he is now determined to repay the faith shown in him, telling LTFC+: “I’ve heard so many good things about the football club.”
“I think it’s a perfect match in terms of what the club’s all about matches what I’m about as a player. I think I need someone like Luton at the moment and maybe they need someone like me. So I feel like it’s really, really exciting.”
The Iraq international admitted the club’s persistence in getting the deal done was a huge factor.
“You need to go somewhere where you feel the love from the manager, from the fans, to get the best out of yourself as a footballer,” he explained. “When a club’s really pushed for you as much as Luton, and I know the manager really well, it was just a matter of getting it done.”
Recalling his time with Bloomfield earlier in his career at Wycombe Wanderers, Al-Hamadi said: “We used to have so many honest chats and deep chats and he helped me a lot as a young player. I still think he can take my game to the next level.”
He added: “Not many players went from League Two to the Champ anyway and then to get promoted to the Prem in the same season. This has all happened in the past 18 months. My career’s been exciting – full of challenges, full of things to adapt to and learn from.”
After a tough spell at Ipswich, which saw the club relegated after one season in the Premier League, Al-Hamadi says he’s eager for a fresh start.
“It was quite a challenging year for me definitely at Ipswich. I came under some criticism and stuff that I’d probably never had to deal with in my career,” he said, adding: “With a bit of stability and a fresh start and a fresh challenge here, hopefully I can get back to scoring goals and helping my team win football games, because that’s what I’m here to do.”
Asked what Luton fans can expect, he replied: “I’d say I’m a very passionate player, wear my heart on my sleeve, fast, dynamic, like to score goals and just be fun, exciting to watch. I’d like to say I’m coming into a well-rounded forward, but definitely my strengths are my speed, power and scoring goals.”
“I’m really excited. I’ve got a good feeling about what we could do here this season and I’m really excited to get started.”
