Luton Town: Andros Townsend set for Kenilworth Road exit | OneFootball

The Hatters are about to lose a veteran from the dressing room.

Luton Town winger Andros Townsend is in Turkey to complete a medical ahead of a move to Antalyaspor.

After featuring in Monday night's heavy defeat to Burnley, the veteran is reported by Turkish journalist Resat Can Ozbudak, of Sports Digitale, to be in Antalya as he prepares to make the switch from the Championship to the Süper Lig.

Townsend has only been with the Hatters since last summer, when he joined them as a free agent upon their promotion to the Premier League. He made 27 appearances and provided four combined goals and assists.

Andros Townsend set for Turkey move

The 33-year-old is set to go through all the usual checks before his transfer to Antalyaspor is completed, as per Ozbudak.

He was linked with joining another Süper Lig side, Alanyaspor, earlier in the summer. Sports Digitale reported that they had taken a real interest in him and that negotiations over a potential deal had started.

Townsend still has another two years left on his current deal, which should mean that Luton will make some decent profit by offloading their back-up right-sided midfielder, who they got for free.

He isn't a key part of their team, so they shouldn't have much issue with letting him go, especially for a fee. Chedozie Ogbene started ahead of the former Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace attacker against the Clarets.

Townsend did not replace Ogbene when he came on, however. He took the place of 18-year-old Joseph Johnson, who made his first start for Luton in their 2024/25 curtain jerker.

Rob Edwards also has the likes of Tahith Chong, who scored Luton's only goal in their 4-1 home defeat, who can play on the right-hand side, if needs be.

Capology estimates Townsend to be the joint-third highest earner at the club on £20,000 per week, so getting rid of his wages could also be a big help to them as they look to put together a side that can challenge to get back into the Premier League.

Luton's transfer links

The result against Scott Parker's side showed that the Hatters will need to make improvements if they want to be at the top end of the Championship come the end of the season. They do have a lot of injuries that they are currently dealing with, but additions will still need to be made between now and the end of the month.

One player they are said to be looking at is Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Malick Yalcouye, who is also reported to be on the watchlist of Luton's Steel City league rivals (Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday), according to Charlie Parker-Turner.

Edwards had to start 19-year-old Zack Nelson in the middle of the park on Monday. While Yalcouye is younger than Nelson at 18, it'd at least be another body to have available. Brighton only bought him earlier in the summer for £6 million.

Another one that could leave the building, after Townsend, is Joe Taylor. The young Welsh forward has been linked with a loan move to Huddersfield Town in League One, but his parent club will need to add a player in his position before they let him go, as per Alan Nixon.

Selling Andros Townsend is smart business

Considering his age when they initially signed him, it was a bit surprising that he got such a long-term deal. If he were to play out his whole Luton contract, he'd be 34 and just a couple of weeks away from being 35.

His experience and quality could have been a big help in what will be a grueling campaign for Town, but they'll be able to reinvest the money that they make from him pretty well into someone that is likely to at least hold their value for longer than Townsend would.

This is just smart business by Luton, even though it does make their squad initially weaker.