Luton Town boss Matt Bloomfield has revealed the club is “close” to completing their first summer signings and warned that there will be “an lot of change” as he prepares for life in League One.
Speaking in his first extended interview since relegation from the Championship, the Hatters manager said the recruitment team has been hard at work since the end of last season and that transfer deals are being worked on.
It was reported today that the now-released Millwall midfielder George Saville has been heavily linked with a free deal move to Kenilworth Road, while reports have emerged of Alfie Doughty being courted by foreign clubs and Teden Mengi has been linked with a move to Premier League Burnley.
“There’s going to be a lot of work needed this summer,” Bloomfield said in an interview with the club, adding: “We’re trying to sign players, we’re trying to move the squad forward, and obviously, there’s going to be a lot of change.”
The Hatters last week announced a recruitment team restructure, with club legend Mick Harford stepping back from his chief recruitment officer role to become a club ambassador and scout. That was after the appointment of Marc Tracey, who re-joined the Hatters as chief scout, while Yousuf Sajjad became player recruitment manager and Jay Socik was named as head of recruitment analysis.
Following confirmation of his appointment on a permanent basis, Bloomfield said his first week in charge has been spent getting on top of recruitment work and player movement.
While Bloomfield didn’t comment on specific targets, he confirmed that the process is already well under way to revamp his squad.
“We’re speaking to people now. We’re speaking to clubs, to agents, to players. That work is going on and will continue,” he said ahead of the Hatters squad returning for pre-season on June 23.
Bloomfield and his team were back in work on the Monday after the 5-3 defeat at The Hawthorns which consigned Luton to a second successive relegation.
He said: “We wanted to talk, to act. We need a club that resonates with our supporters. A team they can be proud of. The character and what Luton Town stands for has to be shown on the pitch.
“We’re close to actioning some of that work. We’ve had multiple meetings — with players, among ourselves, a lot of phone calls. It’s been busy behind the scenes and we’re hopeful that in the near future we can announce where that’s taken us.”
And on the type of player he’s looking to recruit, Bloomfield said: “First and foremost, character. Integrity. That’s what we want to recruit. There are lots of technical and tactical elements that are also important, but we want players who want to be here. Players who are proud to represent Luton. We want hungry players who want to achieve.
“The club’s been on an incredible journey in the last 10 years. We got to the top of domestic football and now, as we come back down, there will be players whose futures lie elsewhere. But we also want to find players who want to join us on this journey and be proud to wear the shirt.
“During pre-season some players might move on — that’s natural considering their performances in the Premier League and Championship. By the end of the window, we believe we’ll come out stronger.”
Part of that will be learning from the final day of the season heartbreak that saw Luton slip out of the Championship, having claimed 21 points from 11 games prior to the West Brom game, to put themselves in the box seat for survival, only to blow it at the final hurdle.
“The pain of a defeat like that and relegation is real,” he said, adding: “To lose in the manner we did and get relegated — it hurt a lot. There’s no getting away from that. It took a while to get over and I think it’s lingered a bit, but ultimately we have to move on. We’ve got a new season we’re really looking forward to.”
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