Cameron Jerome off to League One?

Darren Witcoop of the Sunday Mirror has suggested that Luton Town are reluctant to lose Cameron Jerome despite interest from various League One clubs for the striker who has been playing a lot of minutes from the bench for the Hatters this season.

The 36 year old has played in 21 matches so far this season, entirely off the bench. In these 21 matches Cameron Jerome has played on average 15 minutes per match, scoring 1 goal (against QPR) and providing an assist for Carlton Morris (against Swansea). He's a vital part of our game plan often coming on when we are looking for goals, or need to give one of our first choice strikers a rest. He contributes a lot in the few minutes that he's played, winning 80% of his tackles, creating chances (5), making clearances (10) and pressuring defenders with his sublime acceleration.

The question remains, is it worth keeping a centre forward that is likely out of contract at the end of the season instead of cashing in, even if it is a very small amount of cash? Luton Town have a number of attacking options currently out on loan who could step up to Championship level and do a job for 15 minutes a game. However, is it worth taking the likes of Carlos Mendes Gomes and Admiral Muskwe away from their campaign with Fleetwood, with Carlos impressing having played 15 and scored 5 goals and Admiral playing 12 and scoring 3 after coming back from injury. John McAtee is another option to recall, however, he has recently come back from injury and it will harm his development to go from starting every game at Grimsby to vastly reduce his minutes at Luton and try force more minutes. McAtee currently has played 9 matches scoring 1 and providing 3 assists. Lastly there is Josh Neufville who is quietly going about his business with Sutton United in League 2, playing in 27 matches, scoring 2 goals, he is a player with burning pace similar to Cameron Jerome that Rob Edwards may want to assess.

It's important not to forget the abundance of youth talent we have in the academy, although it may be too soon for them, perhaps 15 minutes off the bench for Josh Allen or Oliver Lynch would really get the crowd going, seeing that the pathway to the first team from the academy is indeed back open again.

Regardless if Cameron Jerome were to leave in pursuit of more first team minutes, it's crucial that we fill his spot on the bench with another forward ready to give 100% for a 15 minute cameo.