Luton fans can expect a similar number of summer signings to previous seasons, but chief executive Gary Sweet has warned that the Hatters do not have huge Premier League riches to spend on stars, with bigger priorities elsewhere.
The Hatters found out yesterday that a trip to Brighton and Hove Albion will be their first fixture in the top flight after winning promotion via the Championship play-offs last month.
And with that success comes a huge financial boost to the club, with Deloitte reporting that they could earn anywhere between £135m and £265m, depending on whether or not they could avoid immediate relegation from the Premier League.
The transfer window also officially opened this week, with Town now shopping for players to help keep them in the league this term.
But, explaining that Luton won’t have the spending power, due to improvements also needed in other areas, Sweet said: “We’ve got to spend at least a dozen million on the facilities here (Kenilworth Road) and that’s increasing.
“We’ve got to do a number of things at the training ground, and we are elevating the Academy, so there is some cost.
“We are also taking a big chunk towards Power Court to make sure that we can actually be ambitious on those plans and get those plans solidified and going, and get the detailed plans in as soon as possible.
“That’s not going to change. That’s the result of us getting to the Premier League, they are the priorities. Not over the squad necessarily, but in tandem with what we spend on this squad.
“So that means we’re not going to have as much money and some of the clubs that went up last year, for example. There’s no comparison between us.
“A lot of the agents understand and they appreciate where we’re coming from in a lifetime, so most of the agents we’re talking to get that and are playing the same game.”
Yet the Hatters chief still expects this summer’s transfer business to be equal to previous campaigns and he told the BBC: “(In the) last couple of seasons in that summer window we’ve probably signed eight, nine, ten players in each of those, so we don’t expect it being much different if I’m honest. But we have a fair degree of churn anyway.”
Luton are also waiting on the new deals offered to Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu, Tom Lockyer, Amari’i Bell and Luke Berry.
