Ex Arsenal and West Ham star Jack Wilshere favourite for EFL managerial job

Former Arsenal and West Ham midfielder Jack Wilshere has emerged as the frontrunner to replace Matt Bloomfield at Luton Town following the manager’s sacking at Kenilworth Road.

It’s been a turbulent few years for the Hatters, who were playing Premier League football during the 2023/24 campaign. Luton Town were relegated to the Championship that summer and suffered back-to-back relegations when plummeting into League One this year.

Bloomfield was appointed by the club in January but could not avoid the drop. It had been hoped that the club could bounce straight up to the Championship but a lacklustre start to the third tier sees them sit in 11th after 11 fixtures.

Luton Town sack Matt Bloomfield

That has led to the club wanting a change in leadership. A statement on Monday read: “Luton Town Football Club has today parted company with manager Matt Bloomfield.

“Matt joined the Hatters in January from Wycombe Wanderers and despite overseeing a run of just two defeats in 11 games leading into the final day of the 2024/25 season, was unable to prevent relegation from the Championship following defeat at West Bromwich Albion.

“Performances and results from the opening 11 matches of the current campaign in League One have fallen below the levels expected, and the Board of Directors has taken the difficult decision to relieve Matt, his assistant Richard Thomas, first team coach Lee Harrison and first team analyst Ben Cirne of their duties. The Board wishes to thank Matt, Richard, Lee and Ben for their efforts during a difficult period for the Club and wishes them the very best for their future careers.”

Luton Town added that the process of appointing a new manager is ‘underway’ during the international break. The Sun names Wilshere as the frontrunner with Russell Martin also touted after his departure from Rangers.

Wilshere is reported to have turned down the opportunity to manage the Arsenal under 21s side in August and is keen to take his next steps in permanent senior management. The 33-year-old, who made 197 appearances for Arsenal and 19 for West Ham, spent a brief period as interim head coach at Norwich City earlier this year.

Jack Wilshere on managerial ambitions

The former England international has been working his way through the coaching ranks, having been appointed as an under-18 coach at Arsenal just four days after retirement in 2022. When working under Johannes Hoff Thorup at Norwich in March, Wilshere spoke of his ambitions to The Independent and said: “I want to be a head coach. Coaching is not something that, as I started my career… [I’m] not thinking about that. But Mikel was the one [to inspire him].

“I had a decision to make, whether I was going to hold on at Arsenal a little bit to try and get something as a head coach, or whether I was going to go and get into a first-team environment, where I’ve got a head coach who sees the game really similar. And I'm enjoying watching [Hoff Thorup] as well, watching him, how he delivers to the players, how he sets up the team, how he sets up a week - all these things that you're involved in as a player, but it's completely different when you're the guy who's leading it and trying to create something.”

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