Luton Town have enjoyed a very solid campaign in the Championship and Nathan Jones’ side are set to enjoy a much more comfortable ending to the season than they endured last term.

The Hatters have managed to make a lot of progress throughout the campaign and they could be able to fight for a top-half finish in the Championship during their remaining matches. That would be an excellent achievement for the club, considering where they were when Jones returned to save them from relegation back to League One.

The summer transfer window will be a crucial one for the Hatters to keep building and looking to consolidate their position as a side capable of potentially pushing for the play-offs or top half. Luton have made some wise investments in the transfer market under Jones so far, but there have been a couple of poor additions made down the years that they need to avoid a repeat of.

With that in mind, we have put together a list of nine Luton signings that did not work out at all the way the Hatters would have liked. Click ‘next’ to scroll through this list…

One player who was never able to make much of an impact at Luton despite looking like a decent signing by the Hatters when he first arrived is defender Lloyd Jones.

Jones arrived at the club in January 2018 with him having managed to impress during a few loan spells at other clubs away from Liverpool. The defender’s 2016/17 campaign with Swindon Town would have been the major one to have caught the eye of the Hatters, with him making 29 appearances in all competitions that term and stood out at times despite them getting relegated.

The defender was unable to fulfill his potential with Luton, and he made just one appearance for them in the league in the second half of the 2017/18 campaign. The following summer Jones was loaned out to Plymouth Argyle for a spell and he made nine appearances during his time with Argyle.

Another temporary move to Northampton followed before he finally left the club permanently and went on to re-sign for the Cobblers.

Another player who was signed by the Hatters amongst expectations he could make a major influence for the club was forward Adam Boyd, but things never worked out for him at Kenilworth Road.

Luton made Boyd one of their most expensive ever arrivals in the summer of 2006 when they bought the forward from Hartlepool United. That came with the striker having fired in 29 goals in all competitions for the club in the 2004/05 campaign before scoring four the following season. However, he showed signs of lacking fitness and could not adapt to life in the Championship.

Boyd did manage to score one league goal for the Hatters in the Championship which came during a meeting with Queens Park Rangers, but that was as good as it got and he finished the 2006/07 campaign with just one goal in 18 league matches.

Following Luton’s relegation, he left for Leyton Orient as the Hatters sought to balance the books as they aimed to get their finances back on track.

Another player who did not have as much of an impact for Luton as the Hatters would have been hoping for when they signed is Jake Jervis, who was never really able to fully convince at Kenilworth Road.

Jervis arrived at Luton in January 2018, with the winger having impressed during his time with Plymouth Argyle where had managed to score 31 goals in 127 matches and had found the net four times in 24 appearances in League Two in the first half of the 2017/18 campaign. He would fail to score in ten appearances for the Hatters though in the second half of the season as the club earned promotion.

The winger was not really in the plans at Luton for the 2018/19 campaign and he was allowed to leave the club on loan to League One rivals AFC Wimbledon in August 2018. He managed to score twice in 30 appearances in all competitions during his loan spell. The following summer he was again surplus to requirements and sent off to Salford City where he scored five goals in 24 games.

In the summer of 2020 Jervis finally cut ties with Luton and made the move to Finland side SJK.

Like others on this list Aaron Jarvis appeared to be a promising signing when the Hatters decided to make a move for him and give him the chance to develop his game at Kenilworth Road.

Jarvis was signed by the Hatters in the summer of 2017, with him having enjoyed an impressive season with Basingstoke Town in the 2016/17 campaign where he fired in 16 goals in 52 appearances in all competitions. After two goals in five games at the start of the following season Luton decided to take a chance on the young forward’s potential.

The attacker made his Luton debut against Morecambe as a late substitute in a goalless draw, but that proved to be his only league appearances in the 2017/18 campaign. He made a move on loan to Boreham Wood in December 2018 but was not able to have much impact with them in the National League.

Jarvis did make four more appearances in the league for the Hatters in the 2018/19 season, before being sent out on loan to Falkirk in January 2019. He needed to have an impressive spell there to convince the Hatters to extend his contract but after failing to score in 12 matches he returned to Kenilworth Road and was released.

Another player on this list who failed to make much of an influence for Luton after arriving at Kenilworth Road was defender Mark O'Brien.

O'Brien looked to be a potentially decent pick-up by the Hatters when they brought him in on a free transfer in the summer of 2015 after he was allowed to leave Derby County, where he had managed to make 35 appearances after coming through the Rams’ academy. The defender had enjoyed a good loan spell with Motherwell in the second half of the 2014/15 campaign as well so looked a decent addition.

However, despite making his debut for Luton in a win against Bristol City in the League Cup, he was unable to force his way into the Hatters side regularly. O’Brien was able to make just six appearances for the club in the league during the 2015/16 campaign and was loaned out to Southport in March 2016. Upon his return, he was transfer listed and sent back out on loan to Southport.

Injury cut short his second loan with Southport and after just five appearances he returned to Luton to recover and he was eventually released signing for Newport County in January 2017.

Another player who makes this list having struggled to make a major impact for Luton is Jack Senior, who was another player who looked a decent enough addition when he arrived.

Senior was picked up by Luton in the summer of 2016 signing from Huddersfield Town and Nathan Jones remarked on him having a lot of qualities that the Hatters were looking for. Injury delayed his start to life at Luton, but he eventually recovered and made his debut in October in the cup and then in the league in January 2017. He finished the 2016/17 with 16 appearances.

However, the following campaign the defender fell down the pecking order and made just five appearances in all competitions. He was then sent out on loan to Harrogate Town during the 2018/19 campaign where he failed to make much of an impression. Eventually, he left the Hatters when his contract expired in the summer of 2019.

Another player on this list who struggled to perform when handed the chance to at Kenilworth Road was forward Ricky Miller, who is someone else that could replicate the form he showed with his previous club prior to his move.

Miller was signed by the Hatters in the summer of 2014 after he had enjoyed an excellent 2013/14 campaign with Boston United firing in 28 goals in 46 appearances and being named Conference North Player of the Year. However, the forward would fail to live up to the same sort of standards operating in League Two with the Hatters.

The forward was initially sent out on loan to Dover Athletic in September 2014, but was recalled after he found the net five times in just ten matches. He did manage to score twice for the Hatters following his return once in the FA Cup against Northampton Town and once in the league against Tranmere Rovers.

Luton though decided to allow him to move permanently to Dover in the summer of 2015 after he had scored two goals in 15 appearances for them.

One player who makes this list having failed to make as big of an impact as he could have done at Luton is goalkeeper Kevin Pilkington, who arrived at the club on the back of a loan spell from Notts County in 2009/10.

The Hatters decided to make that move permanent in the summer of 2010 and he was initially the club’s number one at the start of the 2010/11 campaign, but he swiftly lost his place to Mark Tyler and was sent out on loan to Mansfield Town where he made 11 appearances in all competitions.

Pilkington was able to make 12 appearances in the league for the Hatters during the 2011/12 season and 15 in all competitions that year. He eventually left the club in the summer of 2012 and went on to re-sign for Notts County as more of a back-up option.

Rounding off this list is Andre Boucaud, who might not have even made the list had things worked out differently with the Hatters and a change in managers had not left him out in the cold.

Boucaud arrived at Luton in January 2012 with the Hatters bringing him in from York City as Gary Brabin looked to make additions to his squad that could help the club challenge for promotion back to League Two in the second half of the campaign. The midfielder started off in the side and trying ti make an impact.

However, with the Hatters’ form not consistent enough Brabin was allowed to leave the club and eventually Paul Buckle took over at Luton. He did not really retain faith in Boucaud and handed him just one appearance off the bench during the rest of the campaign. The decision was then made for him to leave in the summer of 2012 with him having made just seven appearances.