Luton Town manager Nathan Jones has revealed there is no chance former loanee Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall will be returning to Kenilworth Lane this summer, speaking to Luton Today.
The 22-year-old came on for James Maddison in Leicester City's 2-1 away win at Norwich City yesterday in his Premier League debut - and looks set to make a big impact in the top flight this season after a successful spell with the Hatters during the last campaign.
He recorded an impressive nine goal contributions from central midfield in 39 Championship appearances last term, playing his first full regular season of senior football after spending a short amount of time at Blackpool during 2019/20 and competing heavily in Leicester's youth team over the years as he graduated from the Foxes' academy.
According to Football FanCast, Nathan Jones' side had made an approach to sign the 22-year-old permanently in May after his successful loan spell in Bedfordshire.
But after impressing in the Championship and becoming one of Luton's best players, Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers has seemingly liked what he has seen of Dewsbury-Hall and given him a chance to shine in the Premier League, something the player backed himself to do.
With this, the Hatters' manager Jones has ruled out any move for the midfielder and speaking to Luton Today on this subject, the 48-year-old said: "Kiernan’s done fantastically well.
"To be fair, it’s bittersweet really because we’d love to have him back but if we can’t get him back we want him to be in Leicester’s team.
"I spoke to Brendan (Rodgers) this week and he’s categorically staying with them.
"We should be proud of that and he should be proud because he’s a great kid, I mean absolutely phenomenal.
"I loved working with him. I speak to him every week, near enough, and he’s proper.
"So, the fact he’s playing in the Premier League is what we all wanted.
"Well, we probably wanted him to come back and us to sell him, so, that didn’t happen."
The Verdict:
Even though they reportedly made a formal approach for him back in May, they have probably focused on other targets since then so this won't come as a major blow to Luton fans despite how good he was last season in guiding them to a 12th-place finish.
Allan Campbell and Henri Lansbury have already come in as replacements for Joe Morrell, George Moncur and Ryan Tunnicliffe this summer, although Jones has said he could potentially add to what already looks like a reasonably big squad.
The addition of Campbell was particularly impressive with several other Championship sides previously in the running for his signature, with winger Fred Onyedinma also looking like a shrewd signing from Wycombe Wanderers.
But one more addition could prove to be vital in their aim to build on an impressive top-half finish from last term - and help them to regain their mojo after a shock 5-0 home defeat to Birmingham City last weekend.
Dewsbury-Hall's absence will continue to be felt throughout the season, but they have mitigated this with new signings with another midfielder potentially coming in over the next few days.