Luton Town have secured the signing of James Bree from Aston Villa on a permanent deal, it has been confirmed.

The 22-year-old full-back spent last season on loan at the Hatters, with him becoming an ever-present figure in the team which included 34 league starts.

Bree struggled to make an impact at Villa Park following his arrival at the club from Barnsley back in January 2017, and Villans boss Dean Smith has now sanctioned his permanent departure from the club.

The full-back made just 28 appearances for Villa in his three years at the club, with him spending the majority of his time away on loan, enjoying stints at Ipswich Town and Luton.

Bree joines Tom Lockyer in joining for Nathan Jones' Hatters as they gear up for another season in the Sky Bet Championship, after Luton managed to maintain their status as a second tier club last season.

Speaking about the addition of Bree, Luton boss Nathan Jones said to the club's official site: “We are delighted to add Breesy on a permanent basis. I really enjoyed working with him at the end of last season, and he’s nowhere near his ceiling yet. He’s of a great age, got great athleticism and with our track record at full-back, he was someone I was delighted to add.

“We only had one right-back on our list and we went all out to get him. It’s a great coup for the club and he will only get better.

“He’s shown a real commitment to want to come to the club permanently, and we are delighted to have him because we have real high hopes for him, firstly to establish himself in our team and then establish himself as a top Championship right-back.

“He’s a great fit with what we like to do here. We like to get them at a real good age, put real good work into them, give them a platform to play and then develop them into real top full-backs, real top players, and we believe that James is in that category.”

The verdict

This transfer was inevitable.

Bree has never been at the forefront of Dean Smith's plans at Villa, meanwhile at Luton, the left-back has been handed a new lease of life and has become a key figure in the Luton side.

Jones likes to utilise full-backs who are adept both defensively and offensively and in Bree you have a defender who is not afraid to get forward and supplement attacks.

For all parties, it's the ideal deal.