Young stopper gets his first run-out at Kenilworth Road
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Luton manager Matt Bloomfield felt new signing Josh Keeley showed glimpses of just why the Hatters invested in his long-term future during an instant reunion against his former side Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.
The 22-year-old had moved to north London in 2022 from St Patrick’s Athletic, spending three years with the club, although he never made a first team appearance, with loan spells at National League side Barnet and then League One Leyton Orient last term, excelling at Brisbane Road. Luton made their move earlier this month though, shelling out an undisclosed fee for Keeley’s services, as he had a first run-out in the 2-0 victory at Southend United, before being named between the posts once more when Spurs headed to Kenilworth Road at the weekend.
Although he didn’t have much to do in terms of saves during his 86 minutes before being replaced by James Shea the most noticeable thing was the way in which the Irish U21 international was more than happy to come out of his area with the ball at his feet, pinging a number of terrific passes out to Jordan Clark on the left, also picking out the rampaging Milli Alli as well.
It clearly impressed those watching on in the stands, as the keeper was picked by the sponsors as their star man, and asked for his thoughts on Keeley’s showing, Bloomfield said: “That must have been why got man of the match, because of his distribution. Josh is really young in goalkeeping terms, a loan at Barnet, a loan at Orient last year he did particularly well, and again we wouldn’t have brought him here if we didn’t have high hopes for him for the long term.
“We made it a permanent transfer because we believe he can be here for a number of years, but it’s also just incredible to have Sheasy as his back-up, or competition as well, as Sheasy’s done great in pre-season and together with Pilks (Kevin Pilkington, goalkeeper coach) they’ll educate Josh the way he needs. I thought with his feet he was excellent, he didn’t have loads to do with his hands, but we were really pleased to get him.”
Discussing his ability to knock the ball out to either flank with what appears to be an unerring accuracy, something which drew some audible praise from the home supporters inside the ground, Bloomfield continued: “We’re going to come up against so many defensive structures and formations this season.
"As we saw with Spurs, it’s very well known how high their defensive line is because of the athleticism they have at the back, so it enabled him to go in behind a little bit more, back to front a little bit more than maybe we would like to do all of the time.
"But we have to know the cues or understand the cues of what our opposition presents and if they’re playing a line like Tottenham did then we have to try and get in behind them and having someone with his distribution on the ball at the back certainly helps.”
Meanwhile, centre half Kal Naismith is clearly an instant fan too, particularly with just how at home the new boy is looking, as he added: “He’s been here a week so it’s going to take time to settle, but it seems like he’s settled so fast. He’s still young and we need to know he’s a huge talent. You see him with the ball at his feet and he’s incredible in terms of distribution and starting attacks which is amazing for us.
"He’s very, very calming which is what I like in a goalkeeper. I’m sort of the erratic one who shouts a lot and he’s just that calming presence, so him coming in, he’s been really good.. He’s got someone to learn from like James Shea who’s going to be a mentor for him and bring him forwards. So take it easy on him at the start but he’s only going to go strength to strength and he’ll be a great signing for the club.”