"It's a pretty unique situation" - Exclusive: Don Goodman drops Luton Town, Thelo Aasgaard claim | OneFootball

Don Goodman has given his verdict on whether Luton Town will miss midfielder Thelo Aasgaard next season following his move to Rangers.

Pundit Don Goodman believes Luton Town's strong summer transfer business will lessen the blow of losing midfielder Thelo Aasgaard.

Luton were widely tipped to challenge for an immediate return to the Premier League last season, but it proved to be a disastrous campaign for the club, and despite a late upturn in form under Matt Bloomfield, they were relegated to League One on the final day on goal difference.

In a bid to preserve their Championship status, the Hatters brought in a host of new signings in the January transfer window, and midfielder Thelo Aasgaard made a big impact in the second half of the season following his £3 million move from Wigan Athletic.

Aasgaard was unable to save his side from the drop, but his performances did not go unnoticed, and he became the latest high-profile player to leave Kenilworth Road when he completed a switch to Scottish Premiership giants Rangers for a fee of £5 million earlier this month.

The 23-year-old joins the likes of Thomas Kaminski, Amari'i Bell, Reece Burke and Carlton Morris in departing Luton this summer, but the Hatters have been incredibly active in the transfer market, bringing in Josh Keeley, Kal Naismith, Hakeem Odoffin, Nigel Lonwijk, Jake Richards, George Saville, Gideon Kodua and Nahki Wells, and there are likely to be more new additions to come.

Don Goodman drops optimistic Luton Town promotion claim despite Thelo Aasgaard exit

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, Goodman admitted that he was impressed with Aasgaard's performances for Luton in the second half of last season, but despite losing the midfielder, he backed the Hatters to be among the promotion contenders in League One in the upcoming campaign.

"It's a pretty unique situation for Luton having done the double drop from the Premier League to League One," Goodman said.

"There was always going to be a large amount of transfer activity this summer.

"I think so far they've brought six or seven in and six or seven have gone out, with Thelo Aasgaard being one of them.

"There's no doubt he excelled in the back end of last season when he arrived.

"He showed what a real quality player he is, but I do feel Luton have done some excellent business so far.

"They've brought in a bit of experience with the likes of Nahki Wells and George Saville, so I would still expect them to be at the top end of League One, which means they probably shouldn't miss Thelo Aasgaard perhaps as much as they would have in the Championship."

Summer exodus could be a positive for Luton Town and Matt Bloomfield

As Goodman said, departures were always inevitable after Luton's relegation to League One, but while supporters will be disappointed to see certain players move on, it does at least allow the club to clear the decks after two disappointing seasons.

Of course, Aasgaard only spent a few months at Kenilworth Road, and he played an important role as the Hatters came agonisingly close to achieving survival, but his £5 million sale to Rangers will help the club balance the books following relegation, as well as providing Bloomfield with funds to strengthen his squad as his rebuild continues.

Having starred for Wigan in the division previously, Aasgaard would have been a big asset for Luton in the third tier next season, but Bloomfield is assembling a team that looks more than capable of challenging for promotion, even without the Norway international.