Luton Town monitoring 21-year-old ahead of potential offer | OneFootball

Championship outfit Luton Town are currently running the rule over former Nottingham Forest centre-back Baba Fernandes, according to a report from Luton Today.

The 21-year-old first arrived at the City Ground back in 2020 from Portuguese outfit Vitoria Setubal – but made just two senior appearances for the Reds in the EFL Cup before being released this summer.

Though Steve Cooper’s men suffered with a shortage of centre-backs at times during the 2021/22 campaign, with Joe Worrall and Steve Cook both spending time out of action, he failed to win any further minutes with the Welshman often opting to use Tobias Figueiredo and also reverted to a back four at times.

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With Jonathan Panzo also joining in January, that may have put the final nail in the coffin of Fernandes’ career in the East Midlands and he could potentially be given a new lease of life at Kenilworth Road.

At this stage, it’s currently unclear whether he would head straight into the first team if he was to sign terms in Bedfordshire, though the Hatters may be on the prowl for a new central defender with Kal Naismith officially leaving for Bristol City yesterday.

Starting in yesterday evening’s 3-0 win against Hitchin, it remains to be seen whether he did enough to impress manager Jones, though he could potentially be given other friendlies to prove his worth.

The Verdict:

Considering he would be arriving on a free transfer if he did sign a deal, this is a low-risk addition that could have high rewards for the Hatters if he can adapt to the challenges of the second tier.

Unfortunately for the 21-year-old, he was behind three top-quality centre-backs in the pecking order in Cook, Worrall and Scott McKenna, with Figueiredo also performing extremely well under Cooper.

But with a potentially clearer path to the first team at Kenilworth Road and a real chance to force his way into contention with the Hatters also operating with three centre-backs, he could kickstart his career.

Turning 22, he won’t want to be playing in Luton’s youth system so there’s added motivation to impress and that can only be a good thing for the second-tier side in their quest to maintain their standards.

The defender may not become one of the first names on the teamsheet straight away – but there’s every chance he could become a success and a very underrated signing. It remains to be seen whether he’s offered a deal or not though.