Matt Bloomfield has left promotion-chasing Wycombe Wanderers to become the new manager at Luton.
Bloomfield has joined the Championship club on a three-and-a-half-year contract, leaving Wycombe second in League One and two points behind leaders Birmingham.
The 40-year-old replaces Rob Edwards, who left Luton by mutual consent last week after just over two years in charge.
Edwards had taken the club to the Premier League in 2023 but was unable to keep them up and struggled to adapt to life back in the Championship with seven wins from 26 matches, leaving them two points above the relegation zone.
Luton said they had “complied with all compensation requests from Wycombe” to land Bloomfield, who has brought his assistant Richard Thomas, first-team coach Lee Harrison and senior analyst Ben Cirne.
Bloomfield will take charge of Saturday’s home Championship fixture against Preston North End.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Highlights of Rob Edwards’ final match in charge of Luton
Bloomfield said: “It’s a genuine honour and a privilege to be here, to be appointed as manager of this incredible club.
“I’m really, really proud. It’s been a busy few days, a very busy weekend but I’ve met the recruitment team, met Gary and spent some time with the board.
“The fact that they’re all Luton supporters and that they care so much about their football club shone through, and the fact that they had a real big desire for me to join our football club also shone through, so I’m incredibly proud and very, very happy to be here.
“That made me feel very comfortable and very wanted, which is huge for me. I want to work with people who care and fans who also care – and they certainly do here. I want to work with people who want the best for their football club, and that’s more than evident with Gary, the chairman and the board of directors.
“That feeling that they gave me and the feeling of being wanted, how much research they’ve done into me and the football team that we’ve produced at Colchester and Wycombe, and the knowledge base of what I stand for, who I am and what we’ve tried to produce in our football team left me in no uncertain times that this was the right move at the right time.”
Bloomfield made over 500 appearances as a midfielder for Wycombe over a 19-year period. He took over as manager in February 2023 following five months at Colchester and took 87 points during 2024, scoring 107 goals in all competitions and reaching the EFL Trophy final.
Luton CEO Gary Sweet added: “It is with great pleasure and excitement that we are able to announce Matt’s appointment on a long-term contract.
“Before anything else, I would like to thank Wycombe for their co-operation in ensuring a swift and smooth transition. It may be flattering to be on the receiving end, it’s never pleasant, but we have made sure that we’ve gone above and beyond to compensate Wycombe to secure his services, along with his trusted coaching team.
“Over the years in which we as a club have risen up the EFL, we encountered Matt at every step as a respected captain of his team, and together they have always shared our hunger and desire to improve and get to the next level.
“Since returning to Wycombe as manager we have been hugely impressed with his work in leading them back towards the top of League One, and especially in how they have done it in such an entertaining way, forging a reputation for front-footed attacking football.
“We identified Matt’s personal and team-building qualities as the outstanding candidate to fit in with the culture we have long established here at Luton Town, and I’m sure every supporter will join me in welcoming him, along with Richard, Lee and Ben to Kenilworth Road.
“Finally, I’d just like to thank the immense amount of work and attention to detail our recruitment team have put into identifying the best candidate and impressing him in meetings, along with the fantastic, as ever, and unanimous support of the board in arriving at a quick decision after interviewing Matt.”
Transfer Centre LIVE! Deals, rumours, news on your phone 📱
The January transfer window is OPEN!
Follow all the latest deals, news and rumours on the ‘Transfers’ section of the Sky Sports app!
