Luton Town manager Jack Wilshere has clarified the situation around defender Teden Mengi after he was named on the bench but did not play in the Hatters' 6-0 EFL Trophy win over Ipswich Town U21s. The comprehensive victory, secured with a Jordan Clark hat-trick, came as the first-team squad sits 16th in League One with eight points from seven games.
Wilshere confirmed Mengi was among the seven substitutes for the Jersey Mike's Trophy fixture last Tuesday but was not introduced. The 24-year-old centre-back, who has made 80 appearances for the club, has yet to feature competitively this season after missing the final three months of the last campaign with a hamstring injury.
"We had some long conversations over the last few days about it," Wilshere said. The manager explained that Mengi had missed three days with an illness at the start of the previous week, disrupting his training rhythm. "He needs to play games, he needs to play minutes," Wilshere added, emphasising the requirement for the defender to build robustness through consistent action.
Mengi, a former England Under-21 international who joined from Manchester United in August 2023, was subject to summer transfer speculation and was told he could leave. A move did not materialise and he was given a squad number ahead of the new campaign, returning to action during pre-season.
In the emphatic Trophy win, Clark opened the scoring in the 18th minute and completed his treble in the 51st. Devante Cole, Joseph Johnson and Dawid Gawel also found the net. Wilshere used the match to rotate, with Mads Andersen and club captain Kal Naismith starting as the centre-half pairing before Hakeem Odoffin replaced Andersen at half-time.
Luton have no fixture until October 3rd, when they host 21st-placed Doncaster Rovers in League One. Supporters can check the full schedule on the club's fixtures page. Mengi's progress in training will be closely monitored ahead of that return to league action.
Read the full report at The Lutonian
