Luton Town announced the capture of Crawley striker James Collins on June 29th, 2017. Little under two years later, he's already a club legend.

The Hatters were already on the up when the Republic of Ireland forward arrived. They'd suffered late heartbreak in the play-off semi-final against Blackpool, but with a strong squad and 27-goal Danny Hylton, they had a chance of automatic promotion.

What they needed was a peppering of quality here and there. Cambridge midfielder Luke Berry would arrive in August, Pelly Ruddock penned a new deal and Birmingham loaned them Andrew Shinnie. None quite eclipsed the capture of Collins.

Following Jack Marriott's move to Peterborough, Luton wanted a big signing, a headline capture that set fans at rest. They went for Collins, who'd previously bagged 20 goals in 45 matches for Crawley.

It's proven to be beyond astute. The 28-year-old smashed 20 goals alongside Hylton last season as Luton threatened to run away with League Two. A late stumble saw them finish second, but that was enough for promotion.

He's a top quality centre forward who can always be relied upon for goals, and to occupy central defenders to allow teammates space.

This season, Collins has kicked on. Hylton has been left by the wayside but the goals have still flowed, with 22 in 44 appearances thus far. That's been enough to earn him the EFL Player of the Year for League One too.

Not only that, but he's got a year left of the deal he signed in 2017 and is now looking forward to Championship football. It's not like these fans didn't see it coming, although the last 22 months have surely exceeded even their high expectations.