Luton Town boss Jack Wilshere admitted he was pleased to see Kasey Palmer’s goal celebration hinting at a desire to stay at Kenilworth Road – but insisted there have been no discussions yet over making the move permanent.
The midfielder, currently on loan from Hull City, scored his first goal for the Hatters in the 1-1 midweek draw at Doncaster Rovers and celebrated the cracker by miming the signing of a contract in front of the travelling Town supporters.
It sparked immediate speculation among fans that Palmer would like to extend his stay in Bedfordshire beyond the end of the season.
Wilshere admitted he noticed the moment too and said it was encouraging that the attacking midfielder feels at home at the club.
“I saw it. It’s nice that he a player of that quality, a player of that level wants to stay here and wants to help us. I think it’s probably credit to everyone here that the environment we create.
“Because we probably haven’t got the results that we wanted since he’s been in, but he obviously feels like it’s a good place to be. It’s a place where he sees that, once we can find a little bit more rhythm, that we can go in the right direction. He wants to be part of that.”
Despite the gesture, Wilshere stressed that the club’s focus is firmly on the remainder of the campaign rather than discussing future deals, with a trip to Wycombe Wanderers tomorrow, a ground where Town have never lost, aiming to end a ten-game away-day winless run in the division.
“Honestly, I haven’t,” the manager said when asked if he had spoken to Palmer about staying permanently.
“At the moment, we’re not talking about that, we’re not thinking about that. We need to focus on now and trying to get closer to the play-offs and trying to win the next game.”
Wilshere was quick to underline the impact Palmer has already made since arriving, particularly the quality he brings in the final third, as his top drawer strike at Doncaster showed.
The Hatters boss said: “Yeah, he’s a good player. He’s a quality player that can help us, that gives you that little bit of magic in the final third. How many times have we spoken about not being able to break down a low block, or we find it hard to create opportunities?
“His opportunity [against Doncaster] is a half chance. And you don’t see many players at this level who can take that tight under that pressure and finish like that.
“He’s someone that we love. We think he can help the club now and potentially going forward as well. But at the moment, we’re not talking about that [contracts], we’re not thinking about that. We need to focus on now and trying to get closer to the play-offs and trying to win the next game, which is tomorrow. Kasey’s in a good moment, so hopefully he can help us do that.”
But despite his influence, Palmer has was withdrawn at Doncaster, as he was last weekend in the late defeat to Reading.
“We have to build up to that,” Wilshere said when asked about the 29-year-old playing a full 90 minutes. “I think he’s played maybe 12 games before he came to us, and he’s now featured in 12 games. And I think his average minutes is much more.
“He can and he will adapt to that. You have to give him time to do that. Of course, I don’t want to take a goalscoring threat, one of our creative players off when we’re trying to get a goal, but we also have to respect that. Again, we want him available for the whole season.”
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