Luton Town ran the rule over Motherwell defender Max Johnston on Friday night as the Hatters weigh up a potential move, according to the Daily Record.
The 18-year-old is on the books of Scottish Premiership side Motherwell, but he is currently on loan at Scottish Championship side Cove Rangers. This is where the Hatters had Johnston watched as he helped Cove to a win over Queen’s Park.
The Englishman has only featured two times for Motherwell, both coming in February last season against sides Hamilton Academical and St Johnstone, respectively. Since then, Johnston hasn’t featured for the Scottish side and has gone on to spend time at Cove Rangers this campaign, where he has so far played seven times in the league, registering two assists.
As well as this season’s loan spell, Johnstone has also spent time on loan at Queens Park, where he played 31 times across all competitions, scoring two goals and grabbing three assists.
The 18-year-old is now coming to a crucial point in his career as the defender’s contract at Fir Park is set to expire at the end of this season.
Luton have previous experience when it comes to transfer business with Motherwell after the Hatters signed Allan Campbell in July last year from Fir Park. Now it looks as though Luton are ready to return this time for a young hopeful prospect.
However, this news comes at a time when Luton are now expected to lose manager Nathan Jones, as the Hatters boss has been given permission by the club to speak to Premier League side Southampton after they sacked manager Ralph Hasenhuttl this morning.
The Verdict
You would expect any potential deal for Johnstone not to be affected by the potential departure of Nathan Jones, as the 18-year-old is one for the long-term.
Luton have obviously been looking at Johnstone for some time now and have been making sure they see enough of him in person to fully understand what he is about. The defender wouldn’t be expected to be one for now; he is someone who is likely to go into the youth set-up or potentially move out on loan in the EFL and work his way up.
The fact that he hasn’t played much for Motherwell shouldn’t be taken into account, as the defender has obviously been taking the opportunities he has been given while on loan. While at Motherwell, his opportunities haven't been there, and that could be due to many different factors.