Luton Town eye ex-Bristol City man as potential Nathan Jones replacement

Luton Town could be on the search for a new manager after Nathan Jones was given permission to speak to Southampton. The Welshman could be set for a move to the Premier League for the first time in his career with the Saints identifying him as the key contender to replace Ralph Hasenhuttl.

The Hatters gave the 49-year-old permission to speak to the Hampshire club after the conclusion of their latest league fixture. Jones is due to take charge of Luton against his former club Stoke City this evening. He will then be allowed to speak to Southampton about filling the hot seat at St Mary’s Stadium.

The Athletic reported that a verbal agreement has been reached between Luton and the Saints for the services of Jones. If talks progress positively on Wednesday then the Championship club will be tasked with finding a new manager.

A report from Football League World suggests that former Bristol City midfielder Gary O’Neil is being lined up for the job at Kenilworth Road. O’Neil is currently the interim manager at AFC Bournemouth. The report states that O’Neil is someone Luton ‘like’ and might consider him as a candidate to potentially replace Jones.

O’Neil has been in charge of Bournemouth since Scott Parker’s sacking in late August. He has overseen 10 matches, picking up two wins and four draws. The Cerries’ form has dipped however with four straight defeats, including a recent capitulation against Leeds United. Bournemouth are now 17th in the standings and are above Southampton by a point.

American billionaire Bill Foley is awaiting Premier League approval to complete his takeover of the club. If Foley’s takeover is completed then the Vegas Golden Knights owner may want to appoint his own manager, which would put O’Neill out of a job.

Ex-Robins head coach Dean Holden however believes that O’Neil deserves the Bournemouth gig on a full-time basis. He tweeted in September: "Really hope Gary O’Neil gets the opportunity on a full-time basis at AFC Bournemouth. "Getting to know him whilst he was a player at Bristol City, you could see he had what it takes to become a top manager."

O’Neil was a player at Ashton Gate for two seasons and made 36 appearances in total. The 39-year-old later departed for Bolton Wanderers before retiring in 2019. His coaching career then began in August 2020 at Liverpool’s under-23’s before working alongside Jonathan Woodgate at Bournemouth and later Scott Parker.