Luton Town manager Rob Edwards is refusing to rule out a January exit for James Bree as Premier League duo Fulham and Southampton chase the former Aston Villa right-back, speaking to Luton Today.
Only one full-back – Middlesbrough’s Wolves loanee Ryan Giles – has more assists in the Championship this season than Luton’s set-piece specialist. Bree took his tally to four during Saturday’s dramatic 3-2 defeat to West Bromwich Albion at Kenilworth Road; putting the Hatters 2-0 up after just 10 minutes with a typically devilish delivery thumped home by the colossal Elijah Adebayo.
Bree’s rampant right boot will not be easy to replace, then; Edwards confirming that the one-time Villa Park youngster is due to become a free-agent during the summer of 2023.
According to talkSPORT’s Alex Crook, Bree is of interest to Southampton. The Saints are long-time admirers of the former Barnsley youngster, who reached the Championship play-offs under Southampton coach Nathan Jones last year.
The Daily Mail, meanwhile, say that Bree also has admirers at Fulham. Marco Silva’s high-flying Cottagers are looking for a new right-back. They could turn to the more affordable Bree after failing to reach an agreement with Arsenal over Cedric Soares.
Southampton and Fulham like Luton Town’s James Bree
“There’s nothing that I know of at the moment,” says Edwards, who had a typically short stint at trigger-happy Watford before replacing Jones at Luton in November. “But, like I said before, nothing would surprise me,”
“He’s a really good player and, obviously, he’ll be out of contract in the summer. With his situation, there’s always that possibility (that he could leave). But what we’ll always do is try and make sure we do what’s right for the football club.
“If (there is) an opportunity for that person to improve, kick on and go forward, and if it’s right for the football club, then we’ll always look at that. But there’s always a lot of parties involved in these things. And it has to be right for everyone.”
Marco Silva, in the build up to Fulham’s unfortunate 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United on Sunday, admitted that the Cottagers are planning to bring in a new right-sided defender before the February deadline, though he insists that reported interest in Rennes captain Hamari Traore and Roma misfit Rick Karsdorp are ‘not true’ (Sky Sports).
“I think he’s a top lad and a top player,” Edwards adds of Bree. “Of course, we’d love to keep him at this football club.”
“His set-pieces are as good as anything that I’ve probably seen, or I’ve worked with. He’s a real asset in that respect, but he’s a good footballer as well.”
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