Town chief pleased to see Hylton and Nombe score as 'big players' get minutes in Cambridge win

Luton boss Nathan Jones was happy to see strikers Danny Hylton and Sam Nombe on target for the U21s during their 3-0 friendly win over Cambridge United on Tuesday.

The pair, who are yet to score for Town in the Championship this term, Hylton without a senior goal since March 23, 2019, both found the net in the second half with some clinical finishes after being sent through one-on-one with the U's keeper.

A strong Luton team took to the field, with Kal Naismith and George Moncur one of a number to get some valuable game-time as Jones said: “About eight players got minutes which they needed to because it’s weird, in a strange time where there are so many games, some people fall behind because we can’t give them it.

"They are still needed for those games so we can work them really hard.

“This was a free week where we wanted them to play.

"Big players got the minutes they needed so that was good.

"Now the squad is right up to speed in terms of minutes so I can now call upon near enough everyone.”

Nombe has barely featured for Luton in the Championship since arriving from MK Dons in August, with just six appearances for a combined time of 77 minutes.

He did start the FA Cup third round win over Reading last month, but now faces increased competition for a place in Town’s match-day squad from deadline day acquisition Elijah Adebayo.

Jones insists the pair have been signed with an eye on the future, saying: “They’re different players and without being disrespectful, we’ve had two strikers (James Collins and Hylton) who have really done it for us and been fantastic, but they’re not going to be able to go on forever.

“So it’s important that we have people in the building that we can work with and develop while those are still performing for us and that’s what we’ve done with Sam and with Elijah.

“We’ve brought two in, who we can really work with and show their quality.”