Luton Town unearthed a gem in 2005 with star who now earns £30k-a-week: View | OneFootball

James Justin played a key role in Luton Town's rise through the leagues before joining Leicester City

Luton Town's extraordinary rise through the leagues in recent years was well documented as the Hatters reached the Premier League via a Championship play-off final victory in 2023, just five years after winning automatic promotion from League Two to League One.

In fact, the Bedfordshire outfit had only become a Football League outfit once again in 2014, as they won the National League title, and would remain in the fourth tier for four successive seasons before going up to League One.

Impressively, the Hatters then completed the unlikely feat of back-to-back promotions and became a Championship side in 2019, when the latter part of the journey to the Premier League, and the greatest chapter in the club's history, would begin.

But prior to Luton's promotion from the second tier to the top-flight, academy graduate James Justin played a key role in the club's rise from League Two to the Championship, before joining Leicester City, where he now earns £30,000 per week, according to Capology estimates, during the summer of 2019.

Luton unearthed a gem in Justin

The full-back initially joined the Hatters' youth academy in 2005, when he was just seven, and rose through the ranks at Kenilworth Road before making his debut in a solitary appearance during the 2015/16 League Two season.

The following 2016/17 fourth tier campaign saw Justin become a regular feature for the Bedfordshire outfit, as he made 39 appearances across all competitions and helped his side claim a League Two play-off spot, albeit the Hatters would not win promotion on that occasion.

Alongside his defensive attributes, Justin also posed a threat going forwards that season, as he scored one goal and created three assists in the fourth tier.

The 2017/18 League Two campaign witnessed the Hatters creating headlines as they won an impressive tally of 88 points, and won automatic promotion to League One as they landed a second place spot behind title winners Accrington Stanley.

Justin played his part in the success of his boyhood club, despite as he made 22 appearances in all competitions, and managed to score two league goals in 17 fourth tier outings.

But the best was still yet to come for the Hatters and their talented academy graduate, who was almost ever-present during the 2018/19 season in which the Bedfordshire side lifted the third tier title, and produced an eye-catching attacking return of three goals and seven assists in 43 League One appearances.

The Englishman's exploits that campaign did enough to impress Premier League Leicester, who secured his services for a reported fee of £6m.

Justin has proven to be a great signing for Leicester

After signing for the Foxes five years ago, the full-back initially struggled for game-time at the King Power Stadium, and made just 13 appearances during the 2019/20 top-flight season.

But by the 2020/21 season, he had become more of a regular feature for the East Midlands outfit, and made 23 Premier League appearances, six Europa League outings and also made two appearances during the Foxes' historic 2021 FA Cup run, which ultimately saw them lift the prestigious silverware.

Justin went on to appear for Leicester in the Conference League during the 2021/22 campaign, in which his side landed a top-half Premier League finish for the fifth successive season.

And although the 2022/23 season was a difficult time for all involved with the Foxes, as they suffered relegation to the Championship, the Englishman enjoyed one of the proudest moments of his career to date as former Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate handed him his first international cap.

The former Hatters man was subsequently instrumental towards the success of the 2023/24 season, in which the Foxes secured an immediate Premier League return by winning the Championship title, as he scored two goals and created two assists in 39 second tier appearances.

The Foxes have enjoyed the services of James Justin over the years, and they have the Hatters to thank, as he was an academy graduate at Kenilworth Road.