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Town publish accounts for the year ended June 30, 2024
Luton Town have admitted that they should have bolstered their squad more during last season’s January transfer window, despite spending just under £27m on players, the most in the club’s history, after publishing their accounts for the financial year that ended on June 30, 2024 yesterday.
Having reached the Premier League in stunning fashion, which saw their coffers boosted by over £115m after winning the Championship play-off final, the Hatters then made a host of new acquisitions ahead of the campaign, as they broke their transfer record on a number of occasions when signing the likes of Mads Andersen, Tahith Chong and Ryan Giles, also bringing in Ross Barkley on a free and adding Arsenal midfielder Albert Sambi Lokonga on loan.
Having given themselves a realistic chance of survival, when January came around, the club only moved to bolster their playing personnel by capturing Japanese international Daiki Hashioka from Belgian top flight club Sint-Truiden, as the defender went on to play 10 times in the top flight, with just six starts. They also snapped up centre half Tom Holmes from Reading, who was loaned straight back to the Madejski Stadium, plus another Royals youngster in Taylan Harris, the attacker still yet to play for the first team some 20 months on.
Luton were relegated out of the Premier League last season - pic: Marc Atkins/Getty ImagesLuton were relegated out of the Premier League last season - pic: Marc Atkins/Getty Images
Luton were relegated out of the Premier League last season - pic: Marc Atkins/Getty Images
With injuries biting hard, it meant that after drawing 4-4 with Newcastle United on February 3, the Hatters then lost 12 out of their remaining 16 games, taking just six points in the process, as they suffered relegation back to the Championship. In the directors’ strategic report which accompanied the accounts, Luton, who spent £26,817,989 in total on new players, also recouping £5,365,059, admitted they should have done more business in the winter window, as they said: “One of the most important areas for investment was the playing squad, which started with the acquisition of Mads Andersen from Barnsley prior to the 2022/23 year end.
"As the summer transfer window progressed the club broke its transfer record on a number of occasions as it looked to improve the depth and quality of the squad. Player acquisitions included Chiedozie Ogbene from Rotherham, Tahith Chong from Birmingham, Marvelous Nakamba from Aston Villa, Ryan Giles from Wolverhampton Wanderers, Thomas Kaminski from Blackburn Rovers, Jacob Brown from Stoke City and Teden Mengi from Manchester United.
“In addition free agents Tim Krul, Andros Townsend and Ross Barkley were added to the ranks to bring some extra Premier League experience, with the latter proving to be one of the bargains of the summer, proving he still had the quality to play at the top level of the game and finishing the season as Luton's player of the season.
“The squad was also strengthened by the loan signings of Albert Sambi Lokonga from Arsenal, who would form an outstanding midfield pairing with Ross Barkley, although his season was hampered by injury, as well as the pacey wing-back Issa Kabore from Manchester City. Despite spending just under £27m on new players January also afforded the opportunity to bolster the squad with the arrivals of Japanese international Daiki Hashioka from Sint-Truiden and Tom Holmes and Taylan Harris both from Reading.
"In hindsight the club might have reinforced more, as from the turn of the year onwards injuries began to blight the season with a number of key players succumbing to long term issues that would seem them miss all or large parts of the remainder of the season. Indeed the club recorded eleven missing players in a single game week, the joint-highest in the 2023/24 season, while eighteen of the twenty six man squad were ruled out at some point, with many or these injuries concentrated in the second half of the season, severely hampering the team's efforts to avoid the drop.
"The team received many acknowledgements for the way they acquitted themselves throughout the season having been favourites to go straight back down at the outset. It was an impressive feat, with a comparatively limited budget, to have fought to the second to last game of the season. But with relegation confirmed the rebuilding job began with several key players departing during the summer transfer window, including the incomparable Ross Barkley.”
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