Manager Nathan Jones spoke in detail about today’s new arrival at Luton Town during his press conference as Joe Morrell joined the club, becoming the fifth signing and third Wales international addition of the summer!
Ahead of the transfer window shutting tomorrow, Jones bolstered his squad with the addition of the 23-year-old midfielder from fellow Sky Bet Championship club Bristol City and had plenty of good words to say about him.
“He ticks a lot of our boxes,” Jones began. “He’s hungry to do well and really wants to play first-team football. He had a taste at Cheltenham, did well and then had an advanced one at Lincoln where he did really, really well.
“I watched him a lot at Lincoln and then when the opportunity came available, he ticks a lot of boxes for us in terms of what we look for, so we are delighted to have him.
“It has been a long process because it has probably been ongoing for about a month or so, but we’re delighted to have him.”
Morrell will bring added depth and further quality to Town’s midfield, as the gaffer admitted he could play in a number of different roles.
“He is very versatile, he has played as a holder, in terms of that defensive ball-playing midfielder. We’ve brought him in for that role, but we believe he can play in a two as he does for Wales, he’s played as an eight for Wales, so we think he’s very versatile and massive scope for development.”
Young defender Peter Kioso has headed out on loan to League Two outfit Bolton Wanderers, and the manager went on to explain the reasoning.
“We’ve got a young, hungry right back in Peter Kioso that needs testing now, he showed in the Man United game that he’s ready to play," said Jones.
“I can't give him that game time at this point, so he needs development, he needs games, he needs testing, we’re able to do that with a good club, a good club for him, that’s going to give him that game time.
"It's a club with pressure, a club with expectation, so it's a different loan for him.
"He's done the National League with Hartlepool, did fantastically well, so there would be no real point sending him back.
"In all honesty, we wanted to get him a League One, League Two club that he was tested at and it was more important the club that he goes to, rather than just the level.
"We want him to have a good development, we want him to get tested, we want him to have pressure, as if he wants to play for Luton, he has to have pressure as we want to win every game.
"So it was more important the club we chose, and we had a few enquiries to be fair to him, but we've chosen a club wisely we think."
Subscribers can watch Nathan's pre-Stoke press conference via iFollow Hatters by clicking the link at the top of the page.
