Luton Town manager Jack Wilshere has talked about the “tough decisions” behind the release of three players and why the Hatters are planning more player departures as the club prepares to rebuild this summer.
Town confirmed last week that academy graduate Zack Nelson, winger Cohen Bramall and striker Jacob Brown would leave Kenilworth Road following the expiry of their contracts this summer.
Wilshere admitted the decisions had not been straightforward. Bramall in particular made an impact, playing 35 times for Town and scoring three stunning free-kicks, one of which one goal of the season at the Luton Town Supporters’ Trust Awards.
“There were some tough decisions and not easy decisions that we had to make,” Wilshere told the club’s YouTube channel.
“I think about the release list. We obviously sent Zack out on loan to try and get a little bit more experience and play games, and he did. He went out and he helped Wimbledon stay in the league, but we wanted to move in a different direction.
“The same with Brownie. We sent him out [to Portsmouth] knowing that there was an option we could have kept him, but again, we want to move in a different direction.
“Cohen was a little bit different because he gave so much this season and helped the team, helped me personally when I first came in.
“So that took a little bit more discussion, but ultimately the team and the club wanted to move in a different direction.”
Wilshere also confirmed that stricter financial regulations played a role in shaping the retained list.
He said: “Of course with the financial rules that are coming in, we had to make some tough decisions that weren’t easy.”
Other than Jordan Clark, Liam Walsh and Elijah Adebayo – who the club are in discussions with over new deals.
Ethan Archer, Joe Gbode, Christ Makosso, Reuell Walters, Millenic Alli, Lasse Nordås, Cauley Woodrow, Jerry Yates all spent the second half of the season on loan elsewhere. While Thomas Holmes could not be loaned out and did not feature in any squad.
They and all other permanent Luton players remain under contract, but Wilshere suggested further departures are likely over the summer.
He said: “There’s some players on there we retain because they’re under contract.
“But we’ll be looking to move on this summer because I think one thing we done really well, the club, in January, the recruitment team and Gary [Sweet – CEO] and Moons [James Mooney – operations director], we identified really quickly what type of players we want here, what we want the culture to look like.
“We want hungry players that really want to be here and help the team. I came out and said that.
“Some players will be coming back from loan, but we’ll be looking to move on.”
The Hatters boss said honesty with players had become one of the biggest parts of the process since the season ended earlier this month.
Wilshere added: “One thing I know from my time as a player is they want clarity. They want the coaches, the club to be honest with them.
“Over the last 10 days, that’s been part of that process where I’ve sat down with every player and been as honest as I could with them and told them where I see them here or if I don’t see them here.
“There’s going to be a busy summer ahead.”
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