Jamie Donley kept up his strong loan form at Luton Town on Tuesday evening, scoring twice in the second half as the Hatters beat Doncaster Rovers 3-1. The attacking midfielder, who is at Luton on a straight loan from Tottenham with no option to buy, fired home early after the break following a pass from Jake Richards. He added his second in the 72nd minute when Doncaster failed to clear another Richards cross.
The 21-year-old’s brace took him to four goals for the season, following earlier strikes against Leyton Orient and Wycombe. He also has three assists for Jack Wilshere’s Luton side, who are eighth in League One.
Donley had impressed Roberto De Zerbi during pre-season, according to football.london, and travelled with the squad to New Zealand and Australia, where he showed off his versatility, work rate and quality on the ball. With Spurs investing heavily in the likes of Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes, though, the club felt another loan was best for his development. Last season he was loaned to Stoke and Oxford, and he has also spent time at Leyton Orient.
Wilshere was keen on the Northern Ireland international, and the deal was completed at the end of August. The former Arsenal midfielder said Luton had tracked Donley since January and kept in touch after his Championship spell with Oxford. He explained that the club went into the window with clear targets, and Donley had long been at the top of the list. In his view, Donley can make a difference in the final third and, as a left-footer, offers something different in central midfield.
Wilshere added that Luton had been patient while waiting for the right opportunity, because players like Donley, who had been close to Tottenham’s first team all pre-season, can become available late in the window. He said strengthening that area had always been the plan and the club was delighted to get the deal done.
With four goals and three assists, Donley is making the kind of impact in attack that Wilshere predicted. A Spurs academy product, he will now want to help fire Luton back to the Championship, and in doing so hand De Zerbi and Tottenham a big decision to make next summer.
