Glen gives his verdict on Christian Walton...and Nathan does the same on him!
After penning a permanent deal with the Hatters today, Luton Town’s not-so-new boy Glen Rea has told the official website what he said to help persuade goalkeeper Christian Walton to join on loan last week – and what we can expect from his pal from Brighton this season.
“I just told him the truth,” said the 21-year-old. “I told him what I thought of the club and he obviously thinks the same now he’s been here and seen what’s going on. He said the same to me the other day. It’s good that he’s on board.
“I rate him really highly. He’s a big presence in the goal, he comes for crosses, he’s a great shot-stopper and good with his feet. I’ve not got a bad word to say about him. I just hope he brings it to Luton and we can do well next season.”
Hatters manager Nathan Jones, meanwhile, went into more detail over what he wants from Rea this season, with the Kenilworth Road faithful having seen the Republic of Ireland Under-21 cap predominantly in a central defensive role during his ten games on loan last term.
“Glen’s a real good athlete and he’s a fantastic character, which is what we want,” said Jones. “He’s a warrior and as a player he’s excellent, and he’s only going to get better. He’s young, he’s hungry and he wants to do well.
“He had offers from other clubs and only wanted to come to Luton Town, which is what we want here. We want desire to want to play for us, and he’s got that in abundance.
“He covers a number of positions as well, because he played centre-half for us last year after Scott Cuthbert got injured, but he’s a defensive midfield player who will excel and get better.
“He’s the type in his athleticism and his reading of the game, and how he breaks up play, that Luton fans will see not a different player - because he still has the same attributes - but we will be looking to use him in a different role from what we did last year.
“He covers a number of positions as well, which is vital when we are working with a tight, elite squad that we have.”
Jones also found time to praise the Kenilworth Road board for the backing he’s been given in shaping his own squad this summer, with the permanent signings of loanees Rea and Alan Sheehan, England Under-21 keeper Walton and promotion-winning duo from Oxford, Johnny Mullins and Danny Hylton.
“The club have been fantastic, and I would have said this at the end because hopefully we’ll get our business done quite soon, but we’ve had targets, we’ve had certain positions we wanted to fill, and we’ve had individual targets and we’ve managed to secure the majority of them,” said Jones.
“And they are good bits of business. It’s not masses of business but we feel Glen’s another one who just ticks absolutely every box for us in terms of his age, in terms of his pedigree and what he wants to achieve.
“It’s another good signing and another one who will hopefully do well for Luton Town.”