Jack Wilshere believes Luton Town’s two deadline-day midfield signings will strengthen his squad in different ways, but has stressed that patience will be needed before both are ready to make an immediate impact.
The Hatters moved late in the window to add Norwegian Sverre Sandal and a loan switch for Utrecht’s Davy van den Berg, with Wilshere outlining how their individual situations mean contrasting timelines for involvement as Luton look to build momentum in the second half of the season.
The Norwegian top flight season ended in November and Sandal played in KFUM’s first pre-season game last Friday and Wilshere explained that Sandal has been closely monitored by the club throughout January.
“Sandal was someone that we kept track of the whole market,” he told LTFC+. “He was flagged up through data before. I watched lots and lots of his games and clips and spoke to some pretty good Norwegian players about him and what they know about him.
“He is a guy that’s incredibly hungry, incredibly talented, but also incredibly hungry, which I wanted from the start.”
Wilshere described the midfielder as a different profile to Liam Walsh, who has made the deeper lying midfield positions his own in recent weeks, suggesting tactical flexibility was a key factor behind the move for Sandal.
“He’s a holding midfielder, number six or number four, but he’s different to what we’ve got at the moment,” the manager said. “Walshy has been excellent in there for us and has the ability to dictate games, and he’s a slightly different player that adds something different.
“I speak all the time about having variation and what it takes to go away from home. Sometimes you need a little bit different approach.”
However, Wilshere admitted Sandal will need a short bedding-in period, saying: “His season finished in November, so he’s been through a pre-season and he’s probably not quite ready just to step straight in to this intense league, but he’ll be very soon in and around it and he can help us.”
Van den Berg, meanwhile, arrives with Europa League experience and a strong reputation from Dutch football, but Wilshere suggested a more careful approach will be taken with the 25-year-old, who last played a full 90 minutes in May.
“Davy was someone that I know and I’ve been aware of,” Wilshere said. “When you’re involved in youth football and around the under-19 Champions League, when someone stands out you keep an eye on them.
“Everyone knows the way the Dutch develop players. Technical players that can make something happen, and I think at times we’ve lacked that a little bit.”
Wilshere acknowledged that van den Berg’s lack of recent minutes means he will need managing before being thrown straight into League One action, with Bradford the visitors to Kenilworth Road tomorrow lunchtime.
“He’s been frustrated with the lack of game time he’s had,” the Hatters boss said. “He’s trained with the group and he’s ready, but we need to build him up and we need to take our time with him because we want him to help us for the rest of the season.”
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