Jack Wilshere, the former Arsenal midfielder and now Luton Town manager, may have suffered a flash of deja vu when he walked into Kenilworth Road and saw the West Ham United loanee for the first time.
Wilshere was the head coach of the Gunners’ Under-18 side when West Ham obliterated Arsenal in the FA Youth Cup final back in 2023.
Two years on, a number of those baby-faced Hammers have made progress towards establishing themselves in the professional game. Ollie Scarles won the Young Player of the Year award following a breakout campaign under Graham Potter.
Callum Marshall made his Premier League debut this month. George Earthy hopes to be in Nuno Espirito Santo’s plans too when he recovers from injury, while Patrick Kelly scored for Barnsley for the first time over the weekend.
As for Gideon Kodua, two years after his sumptuous lob capped a thumping victory over an Arsenal side containing Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri, Wilshere now finds himself coaching the former West Ham youth captain at Luton Town.
Jack Wilshere cannot wait to work with West Ham United loanee Gideon Kodua at Luton Town
Gideon Kodua left West Ham on an initial loan deal over the summer, albeit with an option-to-buy clause in his contract. Whether or not the Hatters trigger said clause, well, that may depend on his performances between now and May under their 33-year-old head coach.
Despite the fact that Wilshere’s successor Matt Bloomfield pushed for Kodua’s arrival – they had worked together previously at Wycombe Wanderers – the versatile midfielder found himself out of favour towards the end of the Bloomfield era.
Kodua was even dropped from the Luton squad for one League One fixture.
Speaking to Luton Today, though, Wilshere insists that helping the 21-year-old realise his vast potential is one of his main tasks in the Kenilworth Road hotseat. The 34-time England international has witnessed what Kodua is capable of first-hand already, of course.
“I don’t want to talk about him!” Wilshere jokes. “He was excellent in that [Youth Cup final]. And the first time I saw him, I said ‘hello’ to him. He was all shy and I said, ‘don’t forget what you did to me.’
“He started laughing. But in that game, actually last season as well [during his loan spell at Wycombe], when someone breaks your heart like that, you follow their journey. I thought he had an interesting season last year and it’s definitely a season for him to kick on.
“He has the ability to. We need to get him positions more where he can show his ability, but he’s very exciting.”
Kodua explains why he agreed to join Luton with option to buy
The Luton fans are hoping to see Kodua feature more regularly. And it seems that, under Wilshere, they will get their wish. Starting on the right of the Hatters’ front three, Kodua made only a fifth league start out of a possible 12 as a new era begun in forgettable fashion over the weekend.
A 2-0 home defeat by Mansfield Town means Luton – a Premier League side just a year-and-a-half ago – are now only three points off the third-tier relegation zone.
Talking to Luton Today at the beginning of August, Kodua admitted that there were a number of reasons why he decided to embark upon what could turn into a permanent stay in Bedfordshire. It seems that he and Wilshere are on the same page, with regards to realising his full potential.
“I’m nowhere near my ceiling, that’s why I’ve come here,” Kodua said. “To improve, just better myself and showcase myself to the Luton fans and to the world really.
“My family are happy. They’ve steered me in the right direction also, always helping me along my journey, keeping me calm when I’m not, and just doing literally everything they can to help me. I just want to prove myself, or prove to myself that I can really do this and get to the next level and where I want to be.
“Basically, just showcase myself really.”
