Matt Bloomfield shares Jerry Yates update as Luton Town boss addresses lack of ‘attacking threat’

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Luton Town got off to the perfect start in League One last weekend, as they kicked the 2025/26 EFL season off with a 1-0 win over AFC Wimbledon.

While it was by no means the most exciting of clashes at Kenilworth Road, a Ryan Johnson own goal in the 85th minute handed the Hatters all three points.

Matt Bloomfield slammed his players three months ago as the Bedfordshire outfit suffered relegation to the third tier, but he will have been pleased to see the start of a new winning mentality for a side who have dropped from the Premier League to League One in no time at all.

However, after Carlton Morris left for Derby County, there have been concerns about the attacking output at Luton. Now, with Jerry Yates now through the door, Bloomfield has issued an update on his fitness.

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Matt Bloomfield explains if Jerry Yates will make his Luton Town debut this weekend

The Hatters make the short trip to Peterborough United on Saturday as they look to make it back-to-back victories to start the season.

However, after they struggled to be a real threat against Wimbledon, fans will want to see Yates in the starting XI as soon as possible, and Bloomfield has explained whether he will be available at the Weston Homes Stadium.

He said (via: The Lutonian): “Jerry’s been with Swansea but hasn’t played any minutes. He’s further ahead than Cohen, but not where we want him and where we need him to be fully at it. We’ve worked really hard this summer to evolve the group and move it to a place that it needs to get to.

“We lost Carlton over the summer, we’ve lost Eli to his injury. Brownie’s been injured and we’ve lost Thelo [Aasgaard]. We’ve lost a lot of goals in attacking threat out of the group that we had at the end of last season. And I think that needs to also be recognised.

“We’ve lost a lot of attacking threat and goals out of the building and as a team we didn’t score enough as we wanted to last year. So it’s going to take a little bit of time. We’re going to have to show a little bit of patience, but I’m not one who’s very patient, I want to get there right now.”

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Matt Bloomfield will be expecting more from his players against Peterborough United

As Yates is unlikely to start against Peterborough, Bloomfield will need other players to step up and take responsibility going forward against a Posh side who can be a threat.

Getting the ball into the box is vital if Luton are going to have success, although this has looked tougher following Alfie Doughty’s move to Millwall earlier this summer.

Nevertheless, the Hatters do have a quality manager in Bloomfield and once this side starts to gel they will be looking to challenge at the top of League One.

Yates was able to sustain his fitness throughout 2024/25 for Derby and this will be a huge relief for Luton as they look to make it six points out of six this weekend.