Matt Bloomfield has left promotion-chasing Wycombe Wanderers to become the new manager at Luton.
Bloomfield joined the Championship on a three-and-a-half-year deal, leaving Wycombe second in League One and two points behind leaders Birmingham.
The 40-year-old replaces Rob Edwards, who left Luton last week by mutual consent after just over two years in charge.
Edwards took the club to the Premier League in 2023, but he could not keep them and struggled to adapt to life in the Championship with seven wins in 26 matches, leaving them two points above the relegation zone.
Luton said they “honoured all compensation requests from Wycombe” to bring in Bloomfield, who brought in his assistant Richard Thomas, first-team coach Lee Harrison and senior analyst Ben Cirne.
Bloomfield will take on Saturday's home Championship game against Preston North End.
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Highlights of Rob Edwards' final match in charge of Luton
Bloomfield said: “It's a real honor and privilege to be here, to be appointed manager of this incredible club.
“I'm really, really proud. It was a busy couple of days, a very busy weekend, but I got to meet the recruiting team, meet Gary and spend some time with the board.
“The fact that they are all Luton fans and they care so much about their football club was brilliant, and the fact that they were very keen for me to join our football club was brilliant, so I'm incredibly proud and very, very happy to be here.
“It made me very comfortable and in high demand, which is huge for me. I want to work with people who care and fans who care too – and they certainly do here. I want to work with people who want the best for their football club, and this is more than evident with Gary, the president and the board of directors.
“The feeling they gave me and the feeling that I was wanted, how much research they did on me and the football team we produced at Colchester and Wycombe, and the knowledge base of what I stand for, who I am. and what we've tried to produce in our football team has left me uncertain at times that this was the right move at the right time.”
Bloomfield made over 500 appearances as a midfielder for Wycombe over a 19-year period. He took over as manager in February 2023 after five months at Colchester and took 87 points during 2024, scoring 107 goals in all competitions and reaching the final of the EFL Trophy.
Luton chief executive Gary Sweet added: “It is with great pleasure and excitement that we can announce Matt's appointment on a long-term contract.
“First of all I would like to thank Wycombe for their cooperation in ensuring a quick and smooth transition. It may be flattering to be on the receiving end, it's never comfortable, but we made sure we went above and beyond to compensate Wycombe in securing their services , along with his trusted coaching team.
“Throughout the years we have progressed as a club in the EFL, we have met Matt every step of the way as a respected captain of his team, and together they have always shared our hunger and desire to improve and move to the next level.
“Since returning to Wycombe as manager, we have been very impressed with his work in taking them back to the top of League One, and particularly how they have done it in such a fun way, building a reputation as attacking footballers.
“We have identified Matt's personal and team qualities as an outstanding candidate to fit into the culture we have long established here at Luton Town, and I am sure every supporter will join me in welcoming him, along with Richard, Lee and Ben, to Kenilworth Road.
“Finally, I would just like to acknowledge the enormous amount of work and attention to detail that our recruitment team put into identifying the best candidate and impressing them at meetings, with the fantastic, as always, unanimous support of the board in making a quick decision after the interview with Matt.”
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