Luton Town have signed midfielder Louie Watson on a permanent transfer from Derby County for an undisclosed fee.
The 21-year-old broke into the Rams side last season having started his career at West Ham United before leaving them for Pride Park in 2020.
Initially with Derby’s Under-23s, he made his league debut for Wayne Rooney’s side as a late substitute in a 4-0 win over Birmingham City in December 2020.
Manager Nathan Jones told the club’s website: “Louie for me is a typical Luton signing. We are getting him at the right age.
“He’s had a good grounding at West Ham, then gone to Derby and broken through there. Derby have done really well with young players, so he caught our eye, we’ve monitored him and when the opportunity came to try and do it, we did.
“You can see his desire to want to get on and develop, but to establish himself at this level first. For me, that’s typical Luton. We have players who are hungry, who want to get to the next level. It doesn’t matter what age they are. They come here and they want to do well. Louie is exactly that.
“He’s a good technical midfield player who is absolutely nowhere near his ceiling, and we are, in God’s will going to get him closer.”
Last season Watson made four Championship appearances, as well as two appearances in the EFL Cup, scoring a penalty in the shoot-out win against Salford City.
He has also been capped twice by the Republic of Ireland at U18 level and a further our times for Ireland U21s.
Speaking after completing his move at The Brache today, Watson said: “I’m delighted to get it over the line. I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time really, and I’m buzzing to join Luton Town.
“Speaking to the gaffer and seeing the team, no one is a finished article and we’re trying to get to the top of the game. The group of boys all want to get better each day.
“The gaffer pushes standards so it’s an ideal scenario to get the most out of my career and to get to where I need to get to.”
On his two seasons at Derby, he went on: “It has been a rollercoaster. A lot of positives. Coming from West Ham’s academy and going into Derby’s academy, getting my chance in the first team within the first few months and really striving in that environment was a positive.
“I’m just excited to get into a team now who were in the play-offs last year and doing really well. They have a good team ethic and I want to really settle myself in, get used to the team and get used to the boys, the gaffer and push on.”
