New signing no.7 : Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu

The U's ended the 4 week wait for a new outfield signing and my gosh it was worth the wait. A lot of fans on social media have been irate with the lack of urgency from the club after Bonner and Harris both made some tough promises to keep. After speaking to Luton Town fans they have described U's number 17 as a strong, reliable midfielder who loves to pop up with a couple of screamers when pushing forward. Mpanzu made just shy of 30 Premier League appearances only 2 years ago. Not only does he ooze confidence and have a wealth of EFL experience, he is also a great footballer and addition to the squad. I would expect to see him start for the majority of the season, however could see it take a few weeks until he is fully incorporated with the starting 11.

What can we expect?

A dominating, physical and adventurous midfielder who has been described as "powerful" and having "endless energy" in articles since 2014. He has every intention to play for another decade and having signed a 2 year deal it is clear he wants to be at the Abbey. In his interview with the club, he was very vocal about getting back to winning ways and provide joy to all those associated with the club.

History

Pelly has achieved amazing things in his career, being capped 3 times by the DR Congo since his debut in 2021 as well as winning promotion all the way up to the Premier League for Luton Town. Mpanzu has played over 12,000 minutes of Championship football alongside just over 11,000 of League One and Two minutes and 1,000 minutes in the Premier League. He companied this with 51 goal contributions with his best output being in the 18/19 League One campaign, recording 5 goals and 5 assists. He most recently represented DR Congo in a 30 minute cameo against South Africa on 9th December 2023. His transfer value reached a peak of £1.8 million in May 2022 and has since declined to a healthy £1 million.

Fan reactions

Since the news broke I have not seen 1 negative thing said by any fan about this signing. This is a first in a long time for the U's that a signing hasn't be doubted before we've seen them touch a ball. "What a signing" was shared by a lot of U's fans and Luton Town fans seemed to be fairly upset that their lifelong midfielder will be in another kit for this season. One fan even said "@LutonTown you will never be forgotten for this" which I must admit isn't shared by many Hatters fans.

Credit: @CambridgeUnitedFC on X