John McAtee has signed for League One club Bolton Wanderers for an undisclosed fee after Luton manager Rob Edwards admitted the club would think about what’s best for the striker.
The 25-year-old has yet to play a senior game for the Hatters after being signed from Grimsby Town in August 2022 and immediately loaned back to the Mariners for the remainder of that season.
McAtee was again loaned out last term to Barnsley where he bagged 12 goals in 40 games, helping the Tykes to reach the League One play-offs.
Prior to his departure being confirmed, Hatters boss Edwards was speaking about the futures of the forward and Joe Taylor, who also spent last season on loan away from Luton, at Colchester and Lincoln, and has been linked with a move to Huddersfield.
The manager told BBC Three Counties last night: “We’ve got a lot of competition in those spaces, those lads know where they stand at the moment. There are players we do deem slightly ahead of them in the pecking order and it’s important for them to be able to play games as well.
“We think highly of them but we’ll also think about them in this situation and what the right thing is for them at the moment and this football club, so there could be movement on one or both of those in the coming days. Because they both did well last season, there has been interest in both and that’s understandable.
“Just because they did well doesn’t mean they come straight back in as our lads did well in another league as well, so we’ll also think not just about the football club but those two, what is right for them. There’s a bit of an age gap between the two, Macca’s just turned 25, Joe’s only 21, so we’ll think about that as well and what’s the right thing for those two.”
After making the switch to Bolton on a three-year deal, Wanderers boss Ian Evatt told Bolton’s website: “John is someone that I have a lot of respect for and we have tracked his career for a long time now.
“He’s had to do it the hard way and has been on a bit of a journey in his career, and I really like that. He’s had to work his way up before going on to have a great season at Barnsley last year.
“I really like the way he plays the game and the intensity of his work. He’s pacy, an excellent presser but also has excellent movement in-behind and can stretch oppositions.
“He’s a goalscorer too, and we needed to add more of that to our ranks. It’s a huge signing for us as we’ve had to fight off a lot of competition to get him.
“We want to highlight the passion he has and the excitement he’ll bring to our fans. The way he plays means he will no doubt get them off their seats and I am sure they will enjoy watching him play.”
