Luton Town have signed centre half Tom Lockyer from Charlton and brought Aston Villa’s James Bree to the club on a permanent basis after the right back spent last season on loan with the Hatters.
Lockyer, a Welsh international, joins after informing the Addicks of his desire to enact a release clause in his contract triggered by the south London club’s relegation from the Championship last term.
Chalton boss Lee Bowyer let the cat out of the bag last week, when he revealed the defender was on his way to Kenilworth Road.
Bree made 42 appearances for Town last term, but after a rocky start when he was deployed on the left, really came into his own after the Coronavirus shutdown, under manager Nathan Jones.
Speaking of Lockyer, the boss told the club’s website: “We wanted to strengthen in that area and have four centre-halves, so we are delighted to get Tom.
“He’s someone I’ve known about since his days at Bristol Rovers. He played against us for them, went to Charlton and has had a real good season there and established himself in the Welsh squad.
“The number of games he’s played for a 25-year-old is excellent, so he brings good experience even though he’s of a relatively young age. He’ll add real competition to what we’ve got here and there is still plenty to come.
“He wanted to stay at the Championship level because he’s ambitious and wants to establish himself as an international player, so with that hunger and desire to do well, he ticks all the boxes for us.”
Last term, Bree revealed that a few “home truths” from boss Jones, helped him kick on to finished as one of the surprise packages as Town pulled of the Great Escape to secure their Championship status.
Talking of the defender after his permanent switch, Jones said: “We are delighted to add Breesy on a permanent basis. I really enjoyed working with him at the end of last season, and he’s nowhere near his ceiling yet. He’s of a great age, got great athleticism and with our track record at full-back, he was someone I was delighted to add.
“We only had one right-back on our list and we went all out to get him. It’s a great coup for the club and he will only get better.
“He’s shown a real commitment to want to come to the club permanently, and we are delighted to have him because we have real high hopes for him, firstly to establish himself in our team and then establish himself as a top Championship right-back.
“He’s a great fit with what we like to do here. We like to get them at a real good age, put real good work into them, give them a platform to play and then develop them into real top full-backs, real top players, and we believe that James is in that category.”
