Luton Town confirm departures of Marvelous Nakamba and Jacob Brown

Luton Town have confirmed the departures of midfielder Marvelous Nakamba and striker Jacob Brown on transfer deadline day.

Zimbabwe international midfielder Nakamba, 32, left the club by mutual consent after his contract with the Hatters was terminated, with the midfielder later making a move to sign for Championship side Sheffield Wednesday.

Meanwhile, former Stoke striker Brown has signed for Portsmouth, with the 27-year-old Scotland international signing for the side from Fratton Park on a season-long loan deal. He is the second player to make a loan move from Luton to Portsmouth this window, following a deal that saw Millenic Alli move to the South Coast earlier this window.

The deals continue something of an exodus at Kenilworth Road in the January transfer window. Lasse Nordas, Millenic Alli, Zack Nelson, Ethon Archer, Joe Gbode, Jerry Yates, Christ Makosso, Lamine Fanne and Reuell Walters have also made either loan or permanent exits from the Hatters this month.

Nakmba leaves after 3 years of association with the Hatters. The Zimbabwean had joined from Aston Villa in the January 2023 transfer window, making 20 appearances as he helped Luton reach the Premier League in his first half-season with the club.

That lead to Luton making the deal a permanent one after their 2023 promotion to the top flight and he had remained at Luton for the two-and-a-half years since, though injuries limited him to just 40 appearances after making the full switch.

In a statement on behalf of the club’s board posted on their official website, Luton Town CEO Gary Sweet sent his wishes and best regards to Nakamba.

He said, “Marvelous has been a huge part of our success, a special character who came to add real quality at the time we needed it to help us to promotion.

“He has been a pleasure to have around the Club, always smiling, even through some tough times personally with injury.

“Everyone at Luton Town thanks Marv for his contribution in his three years at Kenilworth Road, he will always be a welcome visitor, and we wish him every success for his future career.”

Shortly after the news of Nakamba’s exit was confirmed, it was announced that he had made a move to join Championship strugglers Sheffield Wednesday on a short-term deal to the end of the season. The deal is the second of the window to see a player move from Kenilworth Road to Hillsborough, after a loan deal for Jerry Yates.

Brown, meanwhile, became the Hatters’ fourth confirmed senior departure of deadline day with his move to Portsmouth.

The striker had joined Luton from Stoke in 2023 ahead of their Premier League season and scored 7 in 60 appearances, though a knee injury had seen him fail to make an appearance in the current season before November and he had fallen from the first team picture in recent weeks.

Portsmouth boss John Mousinho told the club’s official website of his delight to make Brown his latest signing.

He said, “Jacob is a player who has bags of Championship experience and was appearing in the Premier League a little over 18 months ago.

“It’s probably been a difficult first half of the season for him at Luton, but he’s coming here looking to get back on track.

“We feel that he bolsters us in any one of those positions across the front line, so it’s a signing that we’re really excited about.”