Luton Town backed to seal 'shrewd' Richie Wellens appointment to replace Matt Bloomfield | OneFootball

FLW's Luton Town fan pundit has given his verdict on the possible appointment of Richie Wellens

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Richie Wellens has emerged as a leading contender for the Luton Town managerial vacancy after Matt Bloomfield’s departure.

According to Alan Nixon, the O’s are demanding a big compensation package in order to release the 45-year-old from his position.

Wellens has earned a lot of praise for his work with the League One side, having been in charge since March 2022.

He guided them to promotion from League Two in 2023, his first full season as manager, and he led the London outfit to the League One play-off final in the previous campaign, missing out to Charlton Athletic.

Luton will be hoping, if appointed, that he can guide the club back to the Championship at the first time of asking, having been relegated earlier this year.

Richie Wellens given the seal of approval for Luton

When asked about Wellens’ potential arrival, FLW’s Luton fan pundit Simon Mills claimed he could be just the right man to turn things around at Kenilworth Road.

He also cited the coach’s history with Josh Keeley as one area where he could immediately improve the team, and is optimistic about the appointment overall.

“Well betting has now been suspended on the next Luton manager,” Mills told Football League World.

“Richie Wellens was the head and shoulders favourite when that happened, so I think that would be a decent appointment.

“Obviously, he’s got an existing relationship with Josh Keeley, and he got the very best out of him last season.

“I think it’s a pretty shrewd managerial signing for this level, and hopefully he’ll now be able to push Luton on, inject some ethos into the team and some confidence.

“And we can start pushing forward to the top end of the table, where we should really be.”

Luton Town’s underwhelming start to the season

Luton were expected pre-season to compete for automatic promotion to the Championship after they were relegated to League One.

However, after 11 games, the Hatters are currently 11th in the table with 16 points to their name.

Bloomfield departed with the club already nine points adrift of leaders Stevenage, and three behind sixth place Huddersfield Town.

Next up for Luton is a clash against Mansfield Town on 18 October, which could be Wellens’ first as manager.

Richie Wellens appointment has potential for Luton

The appointment of Wellens could be a real coup for Luton given the work he’s done with Leyton Orient in the last three-and-a-half years.

The O’s have endured a difficult start to the campaign themselves, potentially suffering a hangover from the disappointment of losing the play-off final earlier this year.

But there is no doubt that Wellens is a top coach at this level, and he has the potential to turn around the Hatters and make them promotion contenders.

It will be a blow for Leyton Orient to lose someone of his calibre, especially so soon after missing out on a place in the Championship themselves.