Luton Town fought off competition from a number of clubs to complete the free transfer signing of Paul Underwood from Rushden & Diamonds on transfer deadline day. The Wimbledon-born defender joined Rushden for £50,000 in the summer of 1997 from Enfield and went on to make over two-hundred appearances for the Northamptonshire club. During his time at Nene Park he was a regular in England semi-professional squad as Diamonds progressed up the non-league pyramid and in 2002/03 he led the club to the Third Division Championship and was named as Rushden's Player of the Season. Unfortunately a hamstring injury sustained twenty minutes into his Luton Town debut against QPR ruled him out for the rest of the season and he has made in a Hatters shirt this season now that he has regained his full fitness, forming a formidable partnership with Sol Davis on the left hand side. Paul's career with Luton has been put in some doubt when he contracted a blood infection after undergoing a routine operation last summer and as a result missed the entire 2006/07 season.