Town chief could head back to his former side during transfer window
Luton boss Jack Wilshere has admitted he would consider contacting his former side Arsenal about signing some of their most talented youngsters on loan at Kenilworth Road for the upcoming season.
The former England and Gunners star was in charge of the U18s at the Emirates earlier in his coaching career, leading the club to the FA Youth Cup Final back in 2023, where they were beaten 5-1 by a West Ham United side that contained current Town player Gideon Kodua. Although Arsenal haven’t been able to reach the final since, their U21s are 14th in the Premier League 2, with the U18s sitting 11th in the U18 Premier League, as they have several players who could be of interest to the Hatters.
In the U21s, centre forward Andre Harriman-Annous has seven goals, with winger Charles Sagoe Jr netting five times and Demiane Agustien four, while the U18s has Northern Ireland youngster Ceadach O'Neill scoring 11, wing duo Louis Zečević-John and Brando Bailey-Joseph on seven and six respectively.
Hatters boss Jack Wilshere - pic: David Horn / PRiME Media Imagesplaceholder image
Hatters boss Jack Wilshere - pic: David Horn / PRiME Media Images
Speaking to TalkSport, then asked whether he had contacted anyone at the Emirates about the possibility of bringing in any of their players for another crack at League One promotion when the transfer window openers next month, Wilshere, who showed he wasn’t afraid to give top flight youngsters their chance, bringing in Scotland U21 international Emilio Lawrence from Manchester City, who went on to score two goals in 21 games, with six assists, said: “Obviously I was in the academy and I’ve got a good link there, with the loans manager and the staff. I'm always in contact with them to see, as I know a couple of them.
"I know a couple of them went out on loan this year (Ismeal Kabia to Shrewsbury and Charles Sagoe to Kalmar) and I’m always keeping eyes on them. We took one from Man City, Emilio Lawrence, in January and if you look at his experience on loan, he came in, he was in the team, left out of the team and I told him that he had to earn my trust. He did that and he didn't look back, he just pushed on from there. so I do feel like loans are really good at this level, for both parties. For us, because they add quality, there’s a reason why they’re at Man City and Arsenal, but also for their development.”
With the Gunners having two youngsters in high demand, 16-year-old Max Dowman, who has made 12 appearances for the senior side this season, becoming the youngest player to score in Premier League history when on target against Everton, while Ethan Nwaneri went to Ligue 1 side Marseille in January, netting twice in 10 matches, asked if he would be interested in taking either of those two, Wilshere joked: “The answer to that is yes, whoever Mikel (Arteta) doesn't want, I'll just call him and ask him.”
Going into a bit more detail about the pair, the Town chief added: “I think they’re two different situations as Ethan’s a little bit older, he’s had more moments in the first team than Max. Max is still trying to find his way in there, hes still in that position where he’s been coming on, making a difference and he needs to turn that into a start as that's completely different. I'm sure he will, I've never seen anything like that in the U18s when I had him, the talent, the ability to just change a game was unbelievable.
"Ethan is slightly more established and he wanted to go out on loan and get some football. It didn't quite work out for him, but he will have learned so much from that, so much of real life football and probably a little bit more than that over in Marseille, how emotional they are the fans, how much they demand, it's different. I feel like pre-season is big for both of them, then it's down for them to show Mikel and earn a place in his team. They both have the ability to do it, but it’s down to them.”
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