Townsend elated to play for Town in the Premier League after thinking he would never 'pull on the Luton shirt'

New Town signing Andros Townsend described it as an honour to continue his Premier League journey with the Hatters, after admitting he never thought he would ‘pull on the Luton shirt’ during his career.

The 32-year-old started out with the Tottenham Hotspur academy at the age of eight, spending 16 years in total with Spurs, going on to play almost 100 senior games after turning pro in 2009.

He had a number of loan spells in that time too, before a £12m move to Newcastle United in 2016, although he then joined Crystal Palace for £13m just six months later.

Spending five years at Selhurst Park, Townsend won goal of the month on three occasions, and goal of the season once as well, for his stunning volley against Manchester City in December 2018, which also made the shortlist for the 2019 FIFA Puskás Award.

Heading to Everton in 2021, the attacker was restricted to just 27 outings, suffering a serious anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in March 2022, as he hasn’t featured in a first team game since.

Townsend, who has been working for both Sky Sports and talkSPORT as a pundit since, had lined up a move to Burnley in the summer, but that fell through due to the offer being withdrawn, as he spent two weeks training with Luton.

Coming through 90 minutes for the Hatters’ U21s in their Premier League Cup match against Leeds United last week, it has seen the former England international now pen a short term deal with the club until January.

Speaking to Town’s official website, Townsend, who has played 264 times in the top flight, said: “I feel like it’s a good fit and these last couple of weeks have been good for both parties.

"I think it had to be right and I feel over the last two weeks we’ve had a look at each other and done that.

“I’ve seen where I can help this team and on the flipside the manager has seen where I can help – whether that’s on the pitch, in the dressing room or on the training field – with my enthusiasm and experience.

“Plus, Luton are my local team – I live 20-25 minutes away so I’ve kept my eye on their progress and watching the Championship play-off final and seeing them win promotion was great for the club.

“I never thought I’d pull on the Luton shirt, so it’s a huge honour to play again in the Premier League for this club, and hopefully help this club get as many points as we can and see where it takes us.”