Welcome to the first Trust Interview of the season – a series where we talk to key figures ‘in the background’ at the club about their roles and all things Luton Town. 

This week we chatted with Yousuf Sajjad, who joined the club in September 2024 as player recruitment manager and in June 2025 took up leadership of the recruitment team that’s building our reshaped squad for this season – and for the future. 

Thanks for talking to us, Yousuf. First of all, tell us a little about yourself please – your career so far and what brought you to Luton Town. 

I was born and raised in West London in a family with Pakistani roots. I grew up with a passion for the game but quickly realised it wouldn’t be a playing career I would be able to pursue, so at 18 I turned my attention to other aspects, like coaching and scouting, and went on to do a degree in sports science. I then did some part time work for Opta, the sports analytics company, live coding games – feeding performance data into a database. Following on from this, I volunteered as a scout in the Brentford academy. 

Being South Asian, it isn’t the norm to be pursuing a career in sport/football. My family are super supportive now but, at the time, there were a few raised eyebrows – particularly because I was spending money out of my own pocket to go and watch grassroots football whilst working part-time in retail. I did this for just over a year before getting the opportunity to join Chelsea where I spent five years full-time, working across the academy and first team. I then spent three years at Arsenal as Head of Emerging Talent, which is where I was able to sign Reuell Walters. 

I connected and met with Gary Sweet in 2022 and got a really good feel for the club and the culture which left a mark on me. An opportunity then arose to become Technical Director at a Dutch club, Den Bosch. At 30 years old it was an opportunity I felt like I couldn’t turn down. It became an insane experience which I can’t really put into words! Absent owners, zero resources, literally starting from the bottom – but I wouldn’t have learnt as much as I did anywhere else. It was the club where Ruud van Nistelrooy started his career and I was fortunate enough to build a good relationship with him and gain his help and support throughout my time. I did 18 months where I felt like I had achieved my aim of leaving them in a better state than when I first went in. I then came back and spoke to a few clubs but connected with Gary again and it felt 100 per cent right to join Luton. I’d felt that way even before going to the Netherlands to be honest. I joined the club in September 2024. 

What is your role at the club? 

I was given the opportunity to lead the recruitment department alongside Jay Socik from June 2025 – which is when the department was reshaped. The main part of the role is to manage the recruitment processes and align our objectives as a department to the club’s goals during a specific period, with one eye always on the longer term. 

Jay, Head of Recruitment Analysis, takes the lead on the data side with Diego Bohorquez (first team data analyst). Marc Tracy, who came back to the club in June 2025 from Lincoln, is our Chief Scout, dealing with the logistical side of managing our scouting team – which includes Luton legend David Moss – and providing his expert opinion on players we’re shortlisting, along with Alexander Wilkinson, our full-time first team scout. And then there’s Mick Harford, of course. No one recognises a Luton player better than him, and it's great to have him as a sounding board on players we are watching. 

How does the recruitment process work? 

We took an in-depth look at our processes post January window, starting with our DNA. What, historically, made us successful? What is a Luton player? We’ve used this to re-build our internal criteria, adapting in some respects to where we are today. We also introduced a game model to be more specific around the positions and profiles we have in the building and what we want to recruit. In preparation for the summer window, we used both elements to firstly assess our squad and then highlight the needs – whether it be from a characteristic standpoint or specific to a position or profile. We created a definition for each profile and Jay and Diego created data benchmarks to be specific within our filtering process. Once we knew what market we were in (post-relegation) – it was then a case of using our data intelligence and the scouting reports, and knowledge of player situations, to flag up and produce long and short lists with reference towards our needs and the playing style we are building towards. 

That’s the thinking behind our processes, but of course in reality, transfer windows are live and dynamic. There’s the element of following our process but also searching for opportunities to capitalise on and being flexible towards what the market throws up. Christ Makosso was a process driven signing, whereas Isaiah Jones, Nahki Wells, George Saville, Jerry Yates for example were market opportunities that were a perfect fit for what we were looking for. We took a different approach with Jake Richards, where we had done some work on him and then had an opportunity to bring him on trial – he came in and impressed, and we signed him. 

How does this process then work with the manager, coaches and board?

It’s a collective decision-making process. Once we short list the players that we want to target, we as a recruitment team collate the relevant information on each player including live viewings from myself and Jay. We then touch base with the agent to see if a move is feasible and create a dossier to present to the manager and coaching staff. It’s a collaborative approach, which Gary and the board are extremely supportive with. What really helps is having regular communication with Matt during this period. We speak daily which helps us continuously align our thoughts. A big part of my role is then leading on the negotiations with agents and clubs with help from Operations Director James Mooney and Gary. On the recruitment aspect, I know that once a player we want gets in front of Matt, they’re going to sign. Jerry Yates was a great example of that. Even though he wanted to originally stay at Championship level, he signed for us because he knows we’ll soon enough be back there with Matt at the helm.

What additional challenges has relegation created for recruitment? 

It’s certainly changed some things. Some targets won’t drop down to League One, others want to step up to the Championship and no lower – we’ve seen that recently. That’s just the reality of where we are. It has however, worked the other way as well, where we attract a George Saville, Nahki Wells because of our ambition to get back to the Championship and them wanting to fight for it. 

We’re also limited with what we can recruit from Europe this season, as the number of work permits we are able to apply for in league one compared to the championship are reduced. We have hit the maximum number which fulfil the relevant criteria, with players that are already in our squad. This has reduced the pool of players accessible to us for the moment.

When it comes to our budget and wages, we are fully being backed by Gary and the board, but we will not compromise our commitment to sustainability by paying over market value for players or throwing inflated wages and contracts their way. We’re seeing some of that happening elsewhere this summer, but we will always operate within our means, and we do that well. I am absolutely sure that we are building a squad that can – and will – fulfil our objectives, and it will only get better. 

In what ways does our recruitment look to the future? 

We are clearly trying to build a squad for us to progress this season, but also, for lasting success. Given what the fans and club have been through over the last 18 months or so, Matt and us all want to build is a team that allows people to be excited again. That’s what it’s all about. So we have a blend of experience and leadership and some incredibly exciting young talent coming through. We are all thrilled when academy players step up – like Christian Chigozie already this season, Josh Philips, Zak Nelson and Joe Johnson, with more to come too. We liaise constantly with Paul Benson and the academy staff about who is at what stage, and a flow of homegrown talent certainly makes our jobs easier! But we’re also investing heavily in exciting young talent: Jake Richards, Gideon Kodua, Reuell Walters, Lamine Fanne, Christ Makosso and Josh Keeley. I think that demonstrates our ambition – Josh, for instance, is an amazing signing for us permanently from Spurs. As is Nigel Lonwijk, who we have taken on loan but with conditions to make that a permanent move. Power Court is also a great thing to pitch to players we’re aiming to sign as well: they can see the vision of the club and want to be part of it. Envisioning the team that steps out for our first game at Power Court is incredibly exciting. 

What’s your message for us fans? 

There isn’t a person in the building that isn’t working to their maximum capacity to try and get us back to where we belong. I really believe this can be a season where we all enjoy our football again. The home and away support, even in these first few games, has been incredible and, from what I have experienced whilst being at the club, they really can be the 12th man and contribute towards our positive moments. It makes a huge difference to the staff and players so we hope this can continue!

Thanks to Yousuf for these fascinating insights – let’s do our bit and sing our hearts out for the lads today and for every game!