Attacker Andros Townsend signed a new long-term contract with the Hatters this week, calling it one of the “easiest decisions” he has ever made.
The 32-year-old was released by the Toffees in the summer after missing 18 months of action owing to a catastrophic cruciate ligament injury sustained while playing for Everton. He was signed on a free transfer in October. He had thought his playing days were finished after a deal to Burnley fell through at the last minute and teams all over the world refused to take a chance on the England star, preferring to focus on his punditry career.
With Townsend demonstrating in 11 Premier League games that he was clearly past any injury concerns, Luton then handed him a path back into the game by offering the former Spurs and Crystal Palace winger a short-term contract. in Wednesday, a longer stay at Kenilworth Road was confirmed.
“One of the easiest decisions I’ve ever made, extremely grateful to Gary, Rob, and all his staff for taking the chance on me when no one else would, and their continued faith and trust in me long term!” the midfield player wrote on Twitter following the news’ announcement. @LutonTown #2026.
When asked what the key factor for Townsend’s remarkable return to the top division of football has been, Luton manager Rob Edwards replied, “Himself.” He has a really positive outlook. He has a certain amount of tenacity, is extremely motivated and focused, and works relentlessly to improve himself and ensure that he is in the greatest possible shape. I know I have mentioned this a lot.
“After that, he went on to provide an incredibly amazing performance, and he deserves it. We are thrilled to extend it for a longer period of time because he has had a very positive and significant impact on the club since arriving. It’s evident to me that his supporters adore him immediately, and he’s left a positive impression on them, so I’m quite happy about that.
Townsend has started eight of Luton’s previous nine Premier League games. The Hatters’ hopes of making it three straight victories were dashed in a 3-2 loss to Chelsea on Saturday. “We expect to take points; if it was at the beginning of the season, it might be a different story, but we expect,” the attacker stated, feeling that his team had achieved a positive outcome.
Andros Townsend, an attacker for Luton, during a recent match against Liverpool. Photo by Liam Smith
We came here anticipating three straight victories, therefore we should have won against Arsenal and Manchester City as well. We didn’t win, I know it’s not easy, but we expect to win, especially at Kenilworth Road. We just didn’t quite measure up to our expectations and belief that we would win every game, so we must go on and learn from it.
On Boxing Day, Luton defeated Sheffield United 3-2 and then defeated Newcastle United 1-0, so the forward could look back on a fantastic Christmas period and say, “It’s definitely been positive. To get back-to-back wins in the Premier League is always difficult, so we’re delighted with that.” We were hoping to get something from this game going into it, therefore we were disappointed when we didn’t.
“But we have to realise that you never lose and you always learn. We take what we’ve learned from today into Burnley, which is a huge game for us, and we want to score more points.”
Townsend stated, “That’s the most important thing, when you’re down the bottom it’s knowing when you go behind you can bring it back and we’ve done that time and time again since I’ve been here.” Luton has now come back from 2-1 down at Sheffield United to triumph, plus 2-0 at Nottingham Forest to register a stoppage time point, and then going so close from three goals down against Mauricio Pochettino’s side.
“We have to learn from our mistakes, apply that knowledge to Burnley, avoid repeating them, and ensure that we win some points. We have recovered from losing positions, or nearly recovered from losing positions.”
Town’s increasing self-assurance up front has allowed them to score goals in six straight Premier League games, totaling 13 goals, with Elijah Adebayo now up to five goals for the year. Townsend scored his first goal for Luton in the team’s most recent 1-0 victory over Newcastle. Speaking about the Hatters’ growing offensive prowess, he said, “We created a lot of chances early in the season, but we weren’t converting them.” We now carry a goal threat in the wide areas, whether it’s Eli, Carlton Morris, or someone else up front, and that’s really crucial. Hopefully, that will see us through to safety.
