Jack Wilshere insists Luton Town will sign loan star Gideon Kodua on a permanent transfer, admitting there could be scope to seal the deal in this January transfer window, but telling fans not to worry if they have to wait until the summer.
Town’s top scorer moved to of nine goals for the campaign by scoring a sublime winner in Saturday’s 2-1 victory over Stevenage.
Kodua is currently on a season-long loan from West Ham, with Town holding an option to buy at the end of the campaign. Wilshere confirmed a permanent move could still happen during the next few weeks, but stressed the timing would depend on wider considerations.
Asked if a deal could be done sooner than this summer, Wilshere said: “Yeah, it can. And my message to the fans on that is I’m as desperate as they are, so that will be done. That will be done. Whether it’s now, whether it’s before the end of the season, let’s see because you never know what other opportunities are out there.
“And if there’s a case where we’ve only got a certain amount to spend, then we’ve already got Gideon in the bag, so we know that. So let’s be patient with that one, but I also feel the fans, they want to see that announcement that it’s permanent and it will be.”
Wilshere also expanded on Kodua’s growing influence within his side, having altered Luton’s shape in the second half to get more out of the forward during the Stevenage contest.
“That’s why we made the change at half time to try and get Gideon, because naturally Gideon’s a more forward thinking player, to get him to stay high,” he said after moving the youngster more centrally. “Once we settled down in the second half, we did that.”
The manager admitted Kodua was not at his sharpest early on, but praised his ability to impact matches at key moments, a trait that has defined his season so far, with four goals in his last three games.
“Gideon’s interesting because I think he can play in a number of positions,” Wilshere said. “I think he can play on the left, he can play in midfield, he can play on the right. Maybe he could play as a nine, we haven’t seen that yet.
“I actually didn’t think Gideon was at his best in the first half and he went centrally, it was better and he took his moment, and he seems to be that guy who’s doing that.”
Wilshere also credited West Ham’s development work for preparing Kodua for the demands of League One football.
“That’s credit to West Ham,” he said. “They develop players the best for this level. They understand what it takes. They can fight, they’ve got spirit and they understand certain moments.
“So yeah, credit to him, credit to West Ham and it’s now our job to try and refine those moments a little bit where he can do it more consistently.”
With Kodua continuing to deliver decisive goals and Wilshere openly signalling his desire to keep him, Luton’s intention appears clear, even if patience may be required before the deal becomes permanent.
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