Luton Town never looked back after big £30k transfer gamble | OneFootball

The Hatters signed Andre Gray for £30k and it proved to be a bargain.

Luton Town have never looked back since their big gamble to sign Andre Gray for a fee of £30,000.

The striker joined the Hatters on a permanent basis back in 2012, shortly after they had tasted play-off final heartbreak in the National League, but he went on to plunder 30 league goals during the 2013/14 season, as Luton were promoted as champions.

Gray then departed to join Championship outfit Brentford for an undisclosed fee, a move which surely would have seen Luton net a substantial profit.

Since then, both Gray and the Hatters have worked their way up the pyramid and had a taste of the highest level in the Premier League.

Luton’s gamble on Gray certainly paid off

Although £30,000 seems like pocket change to the Luton of today, back in their National League days, it would have been something of a gamble to pay a fee for a young player from even further down the pyramid.

After a goal-laden spell with then National League North side, Hinckley United, Gray moved to Luton on an initial loan deal, which would become a permanent one a few months later.

The frontman instantly caught the eye at Kenilworth Road, and his permanent move was officially announced the day after their play-off final defeat at the hands of York City.

When a club the size of Luton find themselves in the National League, promotion surely has to be the goal every year.

The Hatters finally achieved that in 2013/14, when they raced to the league title under John Still, bringing their five-year exile from the Football League to a close.

Gray was instrumental in their success that season, with the then-22-year-old hitting 30 goals and 13 assists from just 44 league games.

His efforts that year saw him win the club’s Young Player of the Year award, and he also finished the campaign with the golden boot.

Having helped the club to seal their return to the EFL, the Hatters’ gamble had already paid off massively, but it was about to get even better. Unsurprisingly, there was plenty of interest in Gray.

MK Dons were reportedly priced out of a move as a result of Luton setting a £300,000 asking price, before Gray eventually moved to Championship side Brentford for an undisclosed fee.

He left Luton with 52 goals and 24 assists from 97 games in all competitions and made their gamble look like a masterstroke. Not only did they achieve promotion with a huge contribution from Gray, but they were also able to net a likely significant profit for themselves afterwards.

Both Gray and Luton have gone on to reach the top

Gray’s career went from strength to strength after he left Luton. He notched 16 goals for Brentford in his first ever season at Championship level.

That tally prompted Burnley to sign him for a then-club-record £9million fee. He went one better in his debut campaign at Turf Moor, finishing the season with 23 goals and eight assists for the Clarets, as they were promoted to the Premier League.

He struck nine goals and three assists for Sean Dyche’s men in their first season back in the top flight, before moving back down south with Watford. He then spent four years with the Hornets, before switching to QPR.

In recent years, Gray has spent time abroad with Aris Limassol in Greece, as well as Saudi Arabia’s Al-Riyadh. Now 33, he had a brief spell at Plymouth Argyle earlier this season, but his short-term deal was not extended, despite him scoring three times in 13 appearances.

From Luton’s perspective, Gray’s 31-goal season marked the start of their own remarkable rise through the leagues. They achieved back-to-back promotions between 2017 and 2019 to immediately jump from League Two to the Championship.

However, their most magical season of all came in 2022/23, when they were promoted to the top flight for the first time since 1992 after beating Coventry City on penalties at Wembley.

That promotion completed their incredible rise from the National League to the Premier League in the space of just nine years and, although they were relegated straight back to the Championship, their promotion remains a moment of genuine pride among their supporters.

On the whole, it’s fair to say that Luton’s gamble has turned out well for both them and Gray himself.