Wilshere has been impressed with Donley’s efforts so far
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Hatters boss Jack Wilshere is confident there is ‘more to come’ from Tottenham Hotspur loanee Jamie Donley after what he feels has been an impressive start to life at Kenilworth Road.
The 21-year-old moved to Bedfordshire from the Premier League outfit on the Friday before the trip to Mansfield at the end of last month, as, having featured for his parent club during their pre-season campaign, was immediately thrown into the first team for the contest at the One Call Stadium that finished in an embarrassing 5-2 defeat for the visitors, placed just after the hour mark.
Donley then kept his place for the 2-0 win over Stockport County last Wednesday night, before he also began at the weekend too, scoring his first goal for the club against a Leyton Orient outfit he served so well during a loan spell in the 2024-25 campaign. He is expected to feature from the first whistle against Stevenage this evening, and discussing his impact since arriving, Wilshere said: “He’s a footballer that’s technically very, very good in tight spaces.
"He understands how to create an advantage on the opposition, if they’re pressing a certain way, he works it out. I think he’s got better and better each game too. He played three games in a week, starting with Mansfield which was tough for everyone, it wasn’t an easy game to come into on your debut. A different type of performance against Stockport, he gave physical outputs that were outstanding, that were top, top level, and then he grew into the game against Leyton Orient.
"So we need to keep working with him, but also respect that he’s a good footballer and he’ll understand certain things. He’s building connections with his team-mates, it’s understanding him, understanding them, but he’s got better and better every time he’s played. He’s given a lot, he’s just been thrown in and he's done really well. I’m happy he's got his goal and there’s definitely more to come from him.”
Although Donley got up and running on a personal level against his old team-mates at the weekend, Wilshere also pointed to his efforts that might have gone unnoticed in the midweek success against Stockport as well. For Nahki Wells’ opener, it was his impressive close control and pass to Dan Gore that saw Kasey Palmer send Harrison Ashby away on the right to unleash a cross-shot that was parried and turned in by the experienced forward.
He also had a big hand in Callum Marshall’s superb second, playing the ball to his fellow Northern Ireland international, allowing him to curl home a screamer into the top corner from 25 yards, as Wilshere added: “He’s clearly got quality. Marshall’s goal and everyone was talking about the finish, rightly so, outstanding, it was in from the moment it left his foot. But the action before that where it was cleared and it’s come at Jamie really fast and he’s just one touch killed it and played it into Marshall, those things look easy, they’re not easy, especially in League One with the intensity and chaos around the ball.
"His first game and I take responsibility for that, as I’m a believer that throwing players in is the best way, however, that’s not always the case and it was a tough day, not necessarily individually for him, although he will reflect on that himself and say he could have done some things better. When you come into a team that have been doing so well and then all of a sudden you lose a game like that, probably on the bus home he’d have been thinking, that was difficult to come into.
"We put him back in and he was great, his quality is clear. Out of possession I thought he was outstanding, how hard he worked, the distances he covered, the intensity he put into the game. He does that, so the quality moments I’m talking about where he cleans it really well. Structurally he’ll start to understand us more, but a player that will help us this season. He’s growing and he’s going to get better.”