31-year-old central midfielder Luke Berry is set to join Charlton Athletic when his contract at Luton Town expires, as per Pete O’Rourke.
Berry made 17 appearances in the Premier League last season and scored two goals. This led to him being the first player to score in all of England’s top four leagues whilst playing for the same club.
The 5’10 midfielder came through the ranks at Cambridge United, making his first-team debut in a substitute appearance during the 2009/10 season. Over the next two years, the Englishman established himself as a key player for the U’s and he scored 12 league goals in 42 appearances in the 2013/14 season to help them win promotion from the fifth tier via the play-offs.
This prompted Barnsley, who had just been relegated to League One, to sign Berry for an undisclosed fee. However, playmaker’s stay in South Yorkshire did not last long. After 37 appearances, two goals in all competitions and one season away, Cambridge re-signed their academy graduate.
He thrived in his second spell in Cambridge, scoring 12 league goals in the 2015/16 season and 17 goals in the season after that. Furthermore, he only missed one league game across those two campaigns.
Luton Town then signed the midfielder and he proved key to their League Two title-winning campaign in the 2017/18 season.
From this point onwards, Berry became a more peripheral figure in the Hatters’ squad as he largely made appearances from the bench. During the 2021/22 Championship season, Luton’s number eight scored six goals, but consistent injuries meant that he only managed to play 13 league games.
The side who most recently finished 18th in the Premier League announced that they would not be taking up an option to extend his contract to allow him to get regular minutes elsewhere.
Writer’s View
Berry has not played regular first-team football for a long time and this move to the Addicks looks set to be an important point in his career, especially given that he is now 31-years-old. He could easily continue playing in the EFL for another five years, but if he is unable to adapt to playing regularly again it could leave him in a very unfortunate position.
The midfielder could look at his former teammate, Luke Freeman, who made more appearances than him during Luton’s promotion-winning season. He struggled in the National League when he moved to Barnet this year, proving that he will need to work hard in order to be successful in the EFL.
