England U21s interim boss Ben Futcher praised Luton’s summer signing Reuell Walters for making the decision to leave Arsenal and fulfil his desire to play first team football.
The 19-year-old had been offered a new contract to continue his stint at the Emirates, but having spent three years with the North London club following his switch from rivals Tottenham Hotspur, he opted against putting pen to paper having yet to make a senior appearance for the Gunners. Walters did play nine times for the Gunners’ U21s in the EFL Trophy, but eager to satisfy his hunger of the bigger occasions, agreed a deal to move to Kenilworth Road and join a side looking to push for promotion back to the top flight.
It looks like the call is paying off already as since arriving in Bedfordshire, Walters has been one of the bright sparks in what has been a poor start for the Hatters, handed an immediate first team debut in the Championship opener against Burnley. He has gone on to feature in all five of Town’s matches so far this term, also featured for the England Elite squad in their 2-0 win over Turkiye U20s last week.
Futcher, who worked with the wingback during his stint as the Young Lions’ Elite squad manager last season, was impressed to see another of the talented Young Lions’ squad head out to try and made a name for himself in the game, saying: “I think it’s really good, as it’s really important for players to experience first team football. Everyone’s journey is different.
“Some players stay at a club, just work their way through into a first team, some players need to go away from a big club, play at others clubs to get the experience. I worked with Reuell at the Elite squad last season, he played for them the other night and it’s really good to see him doing well and playing regularly at a Championship club.
“I speak to a lot of these lads at different ages where they’re going through that transition and there’s a bit of frustration maybe where they’re not playing first team football but they have a big desire to. Reuell has made that personal decision to go and find first team football. I’ve not spoken to him since he’s been at Luton, but hopefully he’s enjoying it. It seems like he is as he’s playing well. It’s great to see when they make that move and they’re playing and they’re enjoying it, so hopefully he does really for them.”
