Shandon Baptiste is searching for a new club after four years with the Bees
Shandon Baptiste is seeking a new club after a tough stint at Brentford.
Luton Town could benefit from adding Baptiste to their midfield roster.
Baptiste’s playing style could complement Luton’s high-press tactics well.
Shandon Baptiste is searching for the third permanent club of his career this summer, after his recent release from Brentford.
The centre midfielder was a product of the Oxford United youth academy, and went on to feature 43 times for the U’s before joining Brentford in January 2020.
Baptiste had an injury-hit four years at the Brentford Community Stadium, and was unable to nail down a starting position in the Championship or Premier League and realistically failed to live up to expectations after joining as a highly-rated 21-year-old from Oxford.
He is now set to become a free agent on June 30, and at only 26-years-old, will surely have multiple offers from the second-tier to try and resurrect his stalling career.
One club that should be looking at securing his services is Luton Town – they are set to lose some key midfielders and Baptiste could be the perfect replacement to bolster their ranks as Rob Edwards’ side look to bounce straight back to the Premier League after relegation.
Baptiste arrived in West London after two years in Oxford’s first-team, where he had built a reputation as one of League One’s brightest young talents despite suffering multiple long-term injuries that restricted him to making just 26 league appearances for the U’s.
Thomas Frank described him as ‘great one-on-one…energetic, great on the ball and works very hard (at) pressing’ upon arrival, and he was mainly used off the bench in his debut season, appearing in 12 league games, but was not named in the squad as Frank’s side lost to Fulham in the Championship play-off final.
His injury woes unfortunately continued with the Bees, as he suffered a serious knee injury in September 2020 and was ruled out for the rest of the 2020/21 campaign after playing just four games, with Brentford winning promotion through the play-offs in his absence.
Baptiste made his top-flight bow in August 2021 against Aston Villa and netted his first goal for the club in a 2-2 draw away at Leeds in December – but started just nine Premier League games all season as Frank mainly used him as a rotational option in the midfield.
He was in and out of the team again in 2022/23, making 24 appearances and five starts in all competitions as the Bees consolidated their place in the Premier League.
This past season has seen his involvement in the squad lessen even further, as he made 12 appearances and played only 298 minutes in all competitions, leading the club to allow him to leave in search of regular first-team football upon the expiry of his contract this summer.
