Town are closing in on the signing of Luton Town winger Chiedozie Ogbene, TWTD understands.

News that the Blues were targeting the 27-year-old emerged yesterday and we understand the move had made swift progress with the fee believed to be around £8 million.

Ogbene joined the Hatters last summer having spent the previous four seasons with Rotherham United.

In 2023/24, the Republic of Ireland international made 20 starts and 10 sub appearances in the Premier League, scoring four goals and picking up one assist.

A move for another primarily right-sided forward might be viewed as a surprise with the Blues having Wes Burns and Omari Hutchinson for the role, although with the Welshman currently out with a hamstring injury.

Ogbene, who has been linked with Town in previous transfer windows, is versatile and can also be played wide on the left - where Nathan Broadhead is currently absent, also due to a hamstring problem - or as a number 10.

The 5ft 11in tall wideman had a trial at Portman Road in January 2018 when a Limerick player alongside Barry Cotter but unlike his compatriot didn’t win a contract. However, another trial spell the same month yielded a deal with Brentford.

Town look to have all but completed their summer business with a loan move for Chelsea striker Armando Broja up in the air due to achilles issues which emerged during his medical on Wednesday, although looking more likely than appeared to be at the weekend.

The club has been working on their due diligence and adjusting the paperwork since then, presumably to mitigate their risk with the deal set to become a permanent switch worth £30 million next summer should the Blues stay up.

Town already have 27 players who qualify for their 25-man Premier League squad even before any further additions meaning several players will have to move on or not be available for league games.

Freddie Ladapo seems certain to move on, while George Edmundson would also appear on the way out following the signing of Dara O’Shea.

Others, such as Ali Al-Hamadi, Marcus Harness and Cieran Slicker, could be set for loans before the window closes.

Photo: Matchday Images

MickMillsTash added 09:22 - Aug 27 Pace is important in this league Anyone working on a song for this guy ?
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bringmeaKuqi added 09:28 - Aug 27 Agreed, with Burns out we're lacking a little pace – relying only on Hutchinson going forward. There's no mention of a fee, but I'd be surprised if it we're paying big money for Ogbene, so as a squad player/ rotation option/ plan B from the bench, I like the look of this. We don't want to get a month past the window and feel we're short of a plan B with Burns and Broadhead still out injured

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Help added 09:29 - Aug 27 Ogbene, ogbene running down the wing, you know the one.
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Bluearmy_81 added 09:32 - Aug 27 Seems he can play right across the front so great versatility player
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fallyblue added 09:33 - Aug 27 Our strength last season was having the depth to change our front four to maintain our pressing, at the moment we are unable to do that with like for like quality because of injuries
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Cafe_Newman added 09:45 - Aug 27 Og-bene, Og-bene, Og-bene, da dada dada Og-bene, Og-bene, Og-bene, Og- ("Zambezi" - Piranhas)
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broseleyblue added 09:45 - Aug 27 Kiwi. Para 2 says in the region of £8m.
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broseleyblue added 09:45 - Aug 27 Kuqi
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bringmeaKuqi added 09:51 - Aug 27 Thanks broseley, that must have been added after my comment
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Karlosfandangal added 09:53 - Aug 27 Like the idea of this move for cover but still really surprised Town are still going for Broja. His stats are not that great and he has an ongoing injury problem which other clubs have backed away from and Chelsea want him gone, guessing wages. Would like to see a proven goalscorer like that Greek guy….If £25 million was too much for him, yet Town will look to pay £30 million for Broja at the end of the season for a player who could spend time out injured. Again what do I know compared to MA and KmK……..Broja must be one hell of a player

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carlo88 added 09:54 - Aug 27 Not sure about this one at all, Luton fans having a right old chuckle about it. A case of just picking up a right winger at random?
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Cafe_Newman added 09:54 - Aug 27 "One Chiedozie Somkelechukwu Ogbene, There's only one Chiedozie Somkelechukwu Ogbene, One Chiedozie Somkelechukwu Ogbene, There's only one Chiedozie Somkelechukwu Ogbene." It needs a little practice but as soon as you've got it, it's a real roof raiser.
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Jugsy added 10:00 - Aug 27 Not surprised by this. I've been super impressed that McKenna has given those players who got us here the chance to play in the Prem, against some big name clubs, and stake their claim. So far i'd say we've looked very nervous in our performances (which is natural) and it's shown where gaps exist. When Burns went off against Liverpool, we definitely looked light in that area. Sentiment can't get in the way of our progression and Burns needs viable competition (i.e. not Ben Johnson) for his place, to help him improve but also improve us. I didn't think Burns played well, maybe he was already carrying the embers of this injury but he looked out of his depth, unfortunately. As a team, we've progressed super quick, we probably needed another season in the Champ to keep developing the players we had, but if we had stayed there then McKenna would likely not be here. Unfortunately this probably means the Prem has come early for a lot of the group and there'll be casualties as a result.

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blues1 added 10:02 - Aug 27 Karlosfandangel. It's likely an issue with Broja, thst isn't a problem right now, but could simply be a possibility somewhere down the line, in years to come, so not an immediate risk. Which wouldxl make it less of an issue to sign him Hence needed some adjustment in the paperwork. ( dont ask me what adjustments they may be tho). Maybe just an escape clause should the issue vecome a problem during the loan?As for wages, not an issue, as we aren't paying any of his wages while he's on loan. All being covered by Chelsea.

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PimsNumber1 added 10:22 - Aug 27 We are burning money ..8 mio..wow for a bloke knocking about at Rotherham for years .Luton must think it's Xmas many times over .Think they only spent 8 m trying to stay in PL .Mugs price for this bloke
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commuterblue added 10:27 - Aug 27 Jugsy, did we watch the same game? Burns was right in of me Vs Liverpool first half. He won a series of headers, directing them well towards Delap. And his positioning and running against Robertson with the ball was good. Not to mention is role in the press. I admit I haven't watched it back, but live I thought he was out best attacker over that half.
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BobbyBell added 10:38 - Aug 27 Let's just call him Oggy. Any song ideas?? lol
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BobbyBell added 10:38 - Aug 27 Let's just call him Oggy. Any song ideas?? lol
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FabianMalyon added 10:45 - Aug 27 It may just be me, but we're signing a lot of forwards.. Do we have enough cover at the back / defensive midfield? I know we've only played Liv & City so far, shipped 6 goals, but it does worry me a little. We're not going to be able to get away with just scoring more than the opposition in this league. We need to keep clean sheets. I'll keep trusting in KM and the method but I'm a little uneasy. Clean sheet this weekend please boys!

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Karlosfandangal added 10:53 - Aug 27 Blues1 Good point
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Lightningboy added 10:58 - Aug 27 I think you can bring in Too many players at times..... Hope we're not going to break up the "togetherness" of the last 3 seasons at the expense of too many signings.
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Billericay12 added 11:29 - Aug 27 Struggling to get excited about this one. Playing for Rotherham up to 2023. 34 games and 4 goals for Luton. Nothing that stands out but happy to be proved wrong.
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Jugsy added 11:44 - Aug 27 commuterblue - his two yellow card moments were far from composed, in fact for the handball he had played himself into trouble when there were options available to him. He had moments where he did well, but he also lost the ball (on a couple of occasions) and when that puts our backline under pressure, it won't win him a starting position. Do note I said we looked light when he was gone, so I acknowledge he had a role in the group. I don't think he was able to run at his full potential and that looked missing from his performance overall. Appreciate that some thought he was well, i'm afraid that I didn't.

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Jugsy added 11:45 - Aug 27 that he *played well
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SickParrot added 11:51 - Aug 27 Around 8 million may seem a lot for a player with just 4 goals and 1 assist last season, but if he can play in three positions it's like signing 3 players for the 8 million.
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