Luton Town are netting £5m Rangers FC cash windfall - But they may wonder what could've been | OneFootball

Luton Town are netting £5m Rangers FC cash windfall - But they may wonder what could've been | OneFootball

In partnership with

Yahoo sports
Icon: Football League World

Football League World

·3 July 2025

Luton Town are netting £5m Rangers FC cash windfall - But they may wonder what could've been

Article image:Luton Town are netting £5m Rangers FC cash windfall - But they may wonder what could've been

Thelo Aasgaard is closing in on a move to Rangers from Luton Town, who may be left to wonder what could've been...

Luton Town appear poised to prepare for life in League One without the services of mercurial midfielder Thelo Aasgaard, who is closing in on a move away from the club as his brief Kenilworth Road stay nears its conclusion following the Hatters' relegation at the end of the 2024/25 Championship campaign alongside Cardiff City and Plymouth Argyle.


OneFootball Videos


The now-League One outfit suffered a shock relegation to English football's third-tier, having been tipped to lodge a promotion charge after being relegated from the Premier League.

It didn't play out that way, of course, with Rob Edwards - the man who inspired Luton's improbable promotion to the Premier League in 2022 - leaving back in January to be replaced by Matt Bloomfield.

Former Wycombe Wanderers boss Bloomfield threatened to retain Luton's Championship status, as they nearly recovered from a slow start under his stewardship by winning three of their remaining four matches, but a calamitous 5-3 final day defeat at West Bromwich Albion ultimately proved costly, seeing the Hatters return to League One for the first time in six years.

Luton have the added advantage over Cardiff and Plymouth of finding themselves in the second year of their three-year parachute payments package mandated by the Premier League, which could significantly support their ambition to gain promotion back to the second-tier at the first attempt, though that financial strength does not necessarily mean Bloomfield will be able to retain all of his prized assets, and the proof of that is very much in the pudding as Aasgaard nears a switch north of the border to join Rangers following the recent departures of Carlton Morris and Thomas Kaminski to Derby County and Charlton Athletic respectively.

Luton Town's Thelo Aasgaard set to join Rangers FC in £5m transfer deal - Exit has been on the cards for some time

23-year-old Aasgaard offered a bright spark for Luton throughout the second-half of last season following his reported £3 million move from League One side Wigan Athletic, for whom he had scored 12 times across all competitions before the end of January.

Article image:Luton Town are netting £5m Rangers FC cash windfall - But they may wonder what could've been

The talented midfielder instantly showed exactly why he had been brought in as a marquee acquisition, with his silky creativity, quality in tight pockets of spaces and ability to break defensive lines offering much-needed invention and dynamism to an otherwise-one-dimensional Hatters attack.

Aasgaard only managed two goals from 17 appearances for Luton, all of which were starts, and the one-cap Norweigan international perhaps should have found the back of the net more from an xG of 3.17, notably spurning glorious chances in his side's frustrating 0-0 home draw against Middlesbrough back in March.

He was however, a constant threat for Luton, and the classy composure and creativity he exerted while in possession had supporters purring at exactly what he could conjure up in League One, having already shone at third-tier for at least eighteen months with Wigan prior to his arrival in Bloomfield's side.

But Luton have been under little illusion of the reality of a swift exit, too.

Just a week after Luton's relegation to League One was confirmed, Norway manager Stale Stobbaken urged Aasgaard to get out of the third-tier in order to continue his international career ahead of next summer's FIFA 2026 World Cup, for which they are currently on-course to qualify, having scored and provided an assist in his only cap to date in their 5-0 qualification victory over Moldova earlier this year.

Article image:Luton Town are netting £5m Rangers FC cash windfall - But they may wonder what could've been

Indeed, Aasgaard himself cast further doubt over his Luton future by stopping short of playing down a potential exit, which is now edging closer to completion.

A report from MailOnline on Wednesday evening revealed Rangers' interest in a deal for Aasgaard, with Luton expected to net a decent profit on their aforementioned £3 million outlay to Wigan. It has now been claimed by The Four Lads Had a Dream podcast, as cited in a recent report from the Daily Record, that Aasgaard will be joining Rangers for a fee which will see Luton pocket in the region of £5 million.

All signs suggest that Aasgaard's Luton career is set to conclude after just over six months, and while the Hatters appear set to pocket a profit on a player who was unable to keep them in the Championship, there is bound to be a nagging feeling of what could have been.

Luton Town may face Thelo Aasgard transfer regret as Rangers FC deal edges closer

Profit is profit, at the end of the day - £5 million is by no means an insignificant sum to be handed in League One, and it will give Luton increased wriggle room in the transfer market to add to the existing summer additions of George Saville and Kal Naismith.

Article image:Luton Town are netting £5m Rangers FC cash windfall - But they may wonder what could've been

It's not as if Aasgaard's existing body of work, coupled with Luton's status as a third-tier club, could have seen them command a much higher asking price either, although the bigger picture and the Norweigan's undeniable potential makes you wonder exactly what the Hatters could have netted further down the line.

He's a class act, believed by many to be a top-flight player in the making. In recent months, Aasgaard has starred at both Championship and even international level alongside world stars such as Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard in recent times, and there is plenty to suggest that the creative midfield maverick will only get better and better in the months and seasons to come.

Luton, in good time, could have cashed in on Aasgaard's services for a significantly higher figure, and his impressive displays in a struggling side will mean supporters will wish it could've lasted for longer.

Article image:Luton Town are netting £5m Rangers FC cash windfall - But they may wonder what could've been

Make no mistake about it, Aasgaard would have been a sensation in League One and the outcome of their promotion bid could be dictated by exactly how they go about replacing him, which will prove no easy task, although they will receive the financial influx to offer a good chance at doing so to the best of their capability.

View publisher imprint