Jack Wilshere insists Luton Town remain active in the January transfer market but has warned supporters not to expect immediate deals, admitting the club are “not close” to announcing further additions.
The Hatters have so far made just one signing since the window reopened, bringing in Manchester City winger Emilio Lawrence on loan, while Lasse Nordås and Milli Alli have both departed temporarily on loan to Heerenveen and Portsmouth, respectively. Wilshere also admitted that the club could look at loaning out Jacob Brown and Ethon Archer.
With squad space available and rival League One clubs already strengthening, speculation has been limited around who might arrive next at Kenilworth Road.
Speaking to the media ahead of the Lincoln City game, Wilshere made clear that work is ongoing behind the scenes, even if progress has been slower than some would like.
“Honestly no, we’re not really close to anything. We’ve got a list and targets that we want, but we’re not close to anything,” the manager said:
“I don’t think we have to wait for other clubs to do anything as we’ve got our targets and sometimes the player’s situation at the club might be a little bit delayed, there might be injuries somewhere, so I understand the frustration because a lot of teams are doing business in our league, but my message to everyone, the fans especially, is we’re looking, we want to improve the squad.
“I’m happy with the players and how we’ve developed and how the team’s looking, but also understand that we can strengthen in certain areas, strengthen the squad and competition in certain areas. And we are, we’re looking, we’re working away in the background, trying to work out the right solutions and hopefully we’re not too far away from some.
“This is my first January transfer window, we’ve managed to get Emilio in, he’s played a couple of games, is settling in really well, but I can also see the challenges that everyone told me about before going into January.
“We’re working hard to try and improve the squad, but we won’t be forced into doing things that we don’t think can help us in the long term. We’re constantly looking at things, constantly having conversations and let’s see what the next two weeks brings. The club’s been through a tough period where we were relegated from the Premier League, we were relegated from the Championship, and with that comes a lot of players leaving.
“We had to get more players in, and now we’re probably at the point where we can afford to look a little bit further ahead and think about, OK this window is important, what we get right now to help us try and achieve our goal this season, but also what does that mean going into the summer? What does that mean going into next season? So they’re the conversations that we’re having and we’ll continue to have them and look for the right solutions.”
He added: “We have to wait and look at the right opportunities. Yes, I agree that loans probably at this point can be better, but we’re also open to permanent solutions. We have to then think about what that looks like going forward, how we see the team and the age of the players, or whatever it is. We’re open to loans, but we’re also open to permanents as well.”
Lawrence’s arrival, and his immediate involvement against Stevenage last weekend, has also raised questions about whether Town will continue to target young players with potential rather than established names.
“When you bring in a young player like Emilio, it is difficult for him. He has to adapt to this team, how we play and also has to adapt to playing professional football.
“I think if there is a position you can do that in it’s in the wide areas where they have probably not as much pressure on them in every moment to try and do something, whereas you wouldn’t bring a young centre back in for example, especially in this league. So we’re open to loans for young players and we always look at their history. Is this their first loan? Have they been out on loan? Where have they been, how did he adapt to that?
“I feel like we’re quite lucky here as well, we’ve got a lot of people with a lot of connections, so we know where they’ve been and know people where they’ve been, so we’re open to young players, experienced as well, as I think they can help. I think we’ve got a nice group of experienced players here as well which definitely helped me, but we can also add to that.”
Be the first to comment