Former Wigan Athletic star joins Luton Town for third time following Bristol City exit

The 33-year-old spent a hugely eventful two-and-a-half years with Latics after joining from Portsmouth in the summer of 2018.

He twice helped Latics to win enough points on the pitch to ensure Championship safety, only for the club to be deducted 12 points at the end of the second campaign after being placed into administration, which saw them relegated to the third tier.

Midway through the following campaign, Naismith was released from his contract by mutual consent, and joined Luton for the first time.

After moving to Bristol City in the summer of 2022, Naismith returned to Luton midway through the 2024/25 campaign on loan, before making the move permanent this week to rejoin Thelo Aasgaard at Kenilworth Road.

“I’m delighted to be back," he said. "Coming back on loan was amazing, but coming back now as a Luton player is special, and I’m so happy.

“The intention was always to come back, and as soon as the season was done, it was evident, speaking to the people at the club, speaking to the manager, that we all wanted the same.

"I wanted to continue the journey, so there was no other option in my head.

“I think a lot of people are like me and they think the same: when they come here, you get attached – it is a special club that does that.

“Some clubs just fit, and this club just fits for me. At this stage of my career, I’m still so hungry to be successful and play games.

“I’ve not signed a life-time contract but look, I would love to, I would tomorrow, because this is where I want to play until I’m done.

“I’ve still got so much left and so much I want to achieve. This is my club, and that feels just special. I feel wanted, I feel content. I feel every sort of bit of fire inside me when I’m here.

“A week after the season, when I got rid of the disappointment and I knew I was coming back, I was like ‘I’m not finishing like that’.

“If I ever leave the club, I want to leave on a high, so I want to get the club back where it belongs and that starts the first day of pre-season.”

Hatters boss Matt Bloomfield was delighted to secure the services of Naismith on an initial 12-month contract.

“It’s really important that Kal is signing for us," he said. "He’s an incredibly well-respected figure here and has a fantastic history with our football club.

"He’s going to be a real leader for us in the dressing room and on the pitch, he has got lots of quality and a great left foot.

“Above all, he has fantastic organisational and leadership skills and he’s going to play an integral part on and off the pitch for us next season.”