With summer signing number five - Adam Murray - in the bag and booked on the flight to Portugal, Town boss Richard Money was not only thrilled with his latest capture but surprised too.

Not only that, the gaffer hinted that the signing could be the last, and, given the squad's current depth, who would argue against him?

And while they may have failed in their bid to sign last season's successful loanee Simon Heslop, Money believes his newest recruit fits the bill perfectly.

"Adam is something we were really looking for: an established midfield player who knows the league and has excelled at this level as captain at Oxford," Money told lutontown.co.uk.

"You look at their record when he was in the team last season and it's phenomenal. We see him as a very important signing and one with which I am genuinely surprised to have been able to secure.

"We were astounded that he was made available and are delighted to have won the race to sign him. He's exactly the type of player - and person - we were looking to bring in.

"Everyone knows we tried to sign Simon Heslop. We've not made any secret about that, but we know that we've signed a player of real quality and Adam Murray certainly fits into that category and that's a real bonus for us."

The Hatters' pursuit of Heslop was well documented before the former Barnsley man ironically opted to sign for Oxford.

His partnership with Keith Keane at the heart of the Town midfield was a major driving force in their upturn in fortunes in the second half of last season, but Money sees Murray as an equally important component to his already versatile squad.

"Obviously we wanted a player that can play alongside Keith," explained the manager. "But we also wanted one that can play Keith's role if he's not in the team. We think Adam is capable of doing both.

"He's a footballer too - and that's something that I can really see emerging in the squad we've pieced together: a lot of good, intelligent footballers with craft, industry and enthusiasm. Andy Drury, Dan Gleeson, Danny Crow - they come into that category too."

The manager's approach to signing new players is refreshingly open and honest.

"We're not signing any more forwards," he said. "We've got four strikers that are all capable of hitting 20 plus goals each.

"And we're not in for another defender either.

"Whether the midfield jigsaw is complete, I don't know, we'll take another look during pre-season.

"I think we've got a strong group and it's up to me to decide what my XI is and, believe me, places are up for grabs.

"Just look at the goalkeeper's position. Who will play in goal? It's the same with the front pair. Who would the two be? That's if we play with two. I really couldn't tell you."

Versatility is certainly the buzz word. The Hatters now have a squad of players adept at playing in a variety of positions, all with their own unique attributes.

"It takes all sorts to get out of this league," Money continued. "Going to Gateshead and Barrow and winning 1-0 is just as vital as beating Grays 6-0 or Hayes & Yeading 8-0 at Kenilworth Road.

"We need to do all sorts to get the right results at the right time. Not only have we added to the squad this summer with players that can do that, we're fortunate to have players here already that dealt with those kind of challenges last season.

"That will make us strong to cope with what's thrown at us.

"The squad we have is adaptable. It will enable us to play 442 or a diamond, which will give us options all over the pitch depending on the situation.

"But circumstances can change during pre-season so you can never rule anything out, but, as it stands, the squad looks pretty settled."

With only one trialist - Stefan Bailey - joining the group for pre-season, it will be the first time for many summers that the Town will have a settled squad to pick from without what seems a revolving door of trialists looking to earn a contract coming and going at the training ground each week.

On the manager's first day back in the office last week he admitted he wasn't a fan of experimenting with new faces in friendlies.

After securing the immediate futures of Kevin Gallen, George Pilkington and Keane, Money hopes maintaining last year's nucleus will stand them in good stead when the season kicks-off five weeks this Saturday.

"It's great that we've been able to keep the players that we wanted here," he said. "A lot of clubs go through a period of regeneration in the summer, none more so in this league, and I think ourselves and York have been able to maintain the core of our squads which I believe will make both teams stronger.

"It means that come our first game against Altrincham on 14th August you could feasibly see a similar team that played against York in the final play-off game - albeit without Heslop.

"It could result in the likes of Gleeson, Murray, Crow, Pilkington and Drury not in the starting XI and that emphasises our strength in depth.

"Let's just hope it pans out the way we want it to."