Luke Berry has signed for Charlton Athletic and will play under former Luton boss Nathan Jones again, with the Welshman saying the 31-year-old is “one of the best goalscoring midfielders outside of the Premier League”.
It was announced last month that, when his contract expired, the Hatters’ fan favourite would be leaving Kenilworth Road after seven years at the club and three promotions from League Two to the Premier League.
By scoring twice in the top flight, where he made 17 appearances, Berry made history as the first Hatter to score in each of the top four divisions for Luton.
After he was announced on Town’s released list, it had been rumoured that Berry was a target for the Addicks, who Jones took charge of in February.
It’s the second time, Jones has signed Berry as, when in the Hatters hotseat on 2017, he tempted Berry away from his boyhood club Cambridge United and the midfielder became instrumental in Luton’s rise up the Football League.
After putting pen to paper on a two-year Charlton contract, with a club option of an additional year, Jones said of Berry: “Luke’s someone that I signed for Luton in 2017. He’s one of the best goalscoring midfielders outside of the Premier League in recent years in terms of his outputs and we’re really delighted to have him.
“He’s a player I know very well as a character, athlete and footballer. It’s a significant signing for us with the track record that he’s got of promotions. He’s obviously had three promotions with Luton and that’s exactly what we’ve brought him in for. We’ve fought off a lot of competition to get him and I’m just pleased that our club and my relationship with him has enabled us to get the signing over the line. I’m sure he’s going to be a significant signing for the club.
“His last appearance was in the Premier League and his next appearance is going to be for Charlton Athletic, so that’s the type of calibre that we want to attract. We’ve fought off a lot of Championship interest for Luke.
“He’s similar to me in terms of wanting to be part of another project and wanting somewhere where he can be for a while and get his teeth stuck into. He’s someone that I absolutely love working with on a day-to-day basis and that’s going to continue.”
Berry said told Charlton’s website: “Nathan told me how great the club is. When I finished up at Luton, I rang him straight away and wanted to get it going.
“This Charlton team is a really good team. We just need to believe in ourselves, put in the hard work and I can see us doing something special.”
