Luton Town player set for £2m transfer to top-flight European club | OneFootball

Luton Town have agreed to sell one of their defenders to top flight French side Auxerre for a seven-figure fee...

Luton Town and Jack Wilshere are looking to rebuild this summer, having fallen short of their goal to achieve a play-off place in 2025/26. Inevitably, that will mean selling players this summer to prepare for League One.

After the high of a play-off win in 2023, they have had three difficult seasons. Luton Town were relegated in back-to-back campaigns before finishing seventh in League One last season.

After a difficult start to the campaign, Jack Wilshere was placed in charge. His side took some time to get going but managed to go unbeaten in the final 11 games, including eight wins in that time.

However, it wasn't enough to get into the top six and now they are looking for ways to raise money and bring in quality of their own. Gideon Kodua was key to that run and has signed permanently from West Ham United, while the experienced George Johnston has arrived on a free transfer.

Luton Town agree transfer fee with Auxerre for Christ Makosso

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Exits are also important for Luton to balance the books and reduce the wage bill, with Zack Nelson, Cohen Bramall, and Jacob Brown all leaving on free transfers. In January, Luton also allowed others to leave on loan for similar reasons.

That includes Brown, Reuell Walters, Jerry Yates, and Christ Makosso. Three of those, including the latter, actually went to the Championship on loan despite flattering to deceive in League One.

Makosso went to Oxford United and featured seven times for them. He started in the first six games for his new club but he eventually found himself on the bench and unused in the majority of the rest of the games as they were relegated.

The 22-year-old was reunited with Matt Bloomfield but out of favour. He signed for the Hatters from Belgian club RWD Molenbeek in January 2025 but it appears he is on the move again.

According to Ben Jacobs, the five-cap Congo international is headed to France, with Ligue 1 side Auxerre reaching an agreement in principle for a fee of £2 million with Luton, including add-ons, to sign Makosso.

Selling Christ Makosso makes sense for Luton Town

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Luton's decision to sell Makosso for around £2 million makes plenty of sense as the club continues its rebuild following successive relegations. The Hatters need to reshape their squad ahead of a hugely competitive League One campaign, which inevitably means moving on players who are no longer central to the club's plans.

While Makosso remains a promising defender on paper with some good attributes, the opportunity to generate a £2 million fee represents excellent business at third-tier level. Not many of their peers will be capable of selling an individual for such a fee that they are not utilising.

That money can now be reinvested into multiple areas of the squad, giving Luton greater flexibility in the transfer market. With the likes of Sheffield Wednesday, Reading, Leicester City, Huddersfield Town, Barnsley, and more all targeting promotion, every recruitment decision at this currrent moment carries extra importance.

Cashing in on surplus players while their value remains strong is a sensible strategy and should help the Hatters build a more balanced squad capable of challenging near the top of League One. Their end to last season was promising as well, which is why these feel like sensible decisions already.