Luton did not want Glen Rea to leave on loan, but couldn’t guarantee the midfielder game time so allowed him to leave for Wigan Athletic, boss Nathan Jones has said.
The 27-year-old was one of two departures during yesterday’s transfer deadline day, with goalkeeper Simon Sluga sold to Bulgarian champions Ludogorets for a reporter’s €500,000.
Rea, who signed from Brighton in 2016, played in Luton’s 2-1 win over Bristol City last week, but that was his first appearance for two months and only his 13th of the campaign.
Town did not sign any outfield players yesterday, despite links to Sheffield United’s Luke Freeman, and speaking to the club’s website, Jones said: “We didn’t want Glen to go. We didn’t do much business in the window because we believe our squad is very strong and compact.
“Unless we could have significantly improved it, we didn’t want to just sign bodies so that meant we kept in house what we have, which is a tight-knit group.
“Glen is a player that wants to play, is very hungry and has been absolutely wonderful for me in my time at the club.
“This season he has shown a real humility when he hasn’t played. When he has played, we have won football matches and he’s done very well, it’s just he wanted to play, and we couldn’t guarantee him game time.
“We believe this is the right challenge for him in the short term because he’s at the stage of his career, especially after a big injury a few years ago, where he wants to play.
“Credit to him, his attitude has been exceptional, he’s been a big part of what we do but we had to be fair to him.
“I’m pleased that we have enough cover in the position. We believe Gabe Osho can step up as well and I’m pleased for Glen because I know he is going to do well for them.”
2 Trackbacks / Pingbacks
Comments are closed.