The 2023-24 Premier League welcomes Luton Town following their play-off final victory over Coventry at Wembley back in May.
For The Hatters fans, the opening game of the season can’t come quickly enough. This is a team who were relegated to the conference in 2009 and they couldn’t get back into League football until 2014. Yes, you’ve done the maths, in nine years Luton Town has gone from non-league football to the elite.
They will be under no illusions given their budget that this season will be tough. Having said that, who would have thought they could have climbed the leagues as quickly as they did? Don’t right Luton off just yet, they would snap your hand off if you offered them 17th right now and would you want to bet against them?
Stadium: Kenilworth Road
Nickname(s): The Hatters
Founded: 1885
Manager: Rob Edwards
Last Season: 3rd
Top Scorer(s): Carlton Morris (20)
Played for Villa and Luton
James Bree
James Bree became the second youngest debutant for Barnsley in 2014 where he began his footballing career. After impressing for the Tykes during 50 appearances he was snapped up by Aston Villa in 2017.
The full-back failed to make any real impact at Villa Park, playing just 21 games which also included loan spells with Ipswich Town (2019) and then Luton Town (2019-20). Bree signed for the latter in September 2020 after helping them avoid relegation to League 1.
Bree spent three years with the Hatters before being snapped up by Southampton in January 2023, where he was relegated to the Championship earlier this year.
Curtis Davis
Defender, Curtis Davis was released as a trainee by Wimbledon at the age of 15. He wrote to all the local clubs asking for a trial and following a failed trial with Colchester United, he was snapped up by Luton Town, making his professional debut two years later. Davis spent four years with Luton and his impressive performances earned him a £3 million move to West Bromwich Albion.
Davis made 65 appearances during a three-year spell with the Baggies but following relegation he had a transfer request rejected. Eventually, he signed for Aston Villa on a loan deal with an option of a permanent deal. He made his debut in a 1-0 defeat to Leicester City describing himself as a ‘pub player’ following a disappointing performance.
The defender became a regular under Martin O’Neill making 49 appearances during a four-year spell. Towards the end of his spell with Villa, he fell out with the manager and soon joined Leicester City on loan where he made 12 appearances.
In January 2011, he completed the Midlands clubs by signing for Birmingham City for an undisclosed fee. Since then he has gone on to play for Hull, Derby and his current home, Cheltenham Town.
Head to Head
Aston Villa: 15
Luton Town: 19
Drawn: 5
Last meeting: Luton Town 3-1 Aston Villa (10th August ’16)
Last Win: Aston Villa 3-0 Luton Town (2nd October ’02)
2023/24 Fixtures: H – 28th October ’23, A- 2nd March ’24
Confirmed Transfers
IN: Ryan Giles (£5 million), Tahith Chong (£4 million), Mads Anderson (£3 million), Marvelous Nakamba (£2.5 million), Thomas Kaminski (£2.5 million), Chiedozie Ogbene (Free).
OUT: Sonny Bradley (Free), Harry Isted (Free), Carlos Mendes (Undisclosed).
Transfer Rumours
IN: Alex Palmer from WBA (£750K).
OUT: N/A.
Pre-Season
Ipswich 1-1 Luton (July 25th)
Sheffield Wednesday 1-2 Luton (July 29th)
Wolves 0-0 Luton (August 2nd)
