HATTERS midfielder Andre Boucaud has as expected joined League One Notts County on loan until January, writes Mike Simmonds.
The 27-year-old is currently with the Magpies on their training camp in Spain, after falling out of favour at Kenilworth Road.
Boucaud made just seven appearance since signing for £25,000 from York City in January and has become the 16th player to leave Luton since Paul Buckle took over.
County boss Keith Curle said: “I am pleased. He still needs to get fit and up to match tempo.
“I like the way he can manipulate the ball and find space, he has a good range of passing and he’s mixed in very well with the lads.
“He’s a good player, he’s good on the ball and has very good distribution.
“We’ve already got a lot of midfielders, but there is room for one more.
“You can win a lot of games if you win the battle in there and it can be a long season if you don’t.
“We want to take control of games in the middle of the park and then go and play to cause teams problems.”
“I think he’s hungry to get back into the Football League so has a point to prove and will do a good job for us.
Town’s managing director Gary Sweet had revealed the move was close to being completed in yesterday’s News/Gazette as he said: “We’ve agreed a deal with Andre and Notts County.
“It proves Andre is a good footballer, it proves he’s got some quality and it proves he’s certainly able to play at a higher level.
“You’ve got a club in Notts County who are able to play a slightly more luxurious game than we are. Maybe Andre doesn’t quite suit the style that we feel we need to play this season.”
However, Boucaud’s long-term future is still unknown as Sweet confirmed the move would only be for six months, saying: “Nothing at this stage, it’s all conditional. The good thing for us is that it enables Andre to play games.
“It also enables other clubs to see Andre play games.
“So from our point of view we are quite happy with that and perhaps at the moment he still remains an asset of Luton Town.”
In the previous week’s News/Gazette, Buckle had said: “I had a chat with Andre in the summer. He’s not in our plans, he knows that.
“We’ve allowed him to go up and train with Notts County and we’ll see what comes of it.”