Mendy made to measure as Town’s chase pays off

The 22-year-old joined on loan from Macclesfield until December when he is expected to sign a permanent deal for around £40,000.

Part of the arrangement will see Town midfielder John Paul Kissock join the Silkmen too as Buckle said: “We tried for him for quite a while.

“We had been on the phone tirelessly to try and sort the deal out and we never actually got it done until 11 o’clock on Thursday night.

“The great thing about the boy is he’s shown the urgency and has mirrored what we’ve tried to do with him.

“We’ve been knocking on the door at Macclesfield for a while to try and get him, they’ve wanted JP Kissock, so they’ve done a deal.

“It took a while to find a midfield player as we missed out on a couple in the summer. (Danny) Spiller getting injured, that hurt a bit and I really felt it was right after our last win to add to our squad.

“Timing is important to bring in players and I thought the timing was spot on.”

On agreeing to move to Luton, French-born Guinea-Bissau international, Mendy, who joined Derby County when moving to England, impressed his new boss straight away with his punctuality.

Buckle believes that his addition can only benefit the squad too as he said: “The great thing for me was the boy got straight on the train Friday morning and he was there at 9.30am.

“He really wants to come to Luton, we’re thrilled to have him.

“He adds a bit of height, a bit of steel and he’s got a good work ethic.

“We don’t want to bring anyone into the club who’s going to be lazy.

“They’re not easy to find though. Sometimes you get a bigger one, but he can’t really pass the ball, sometimes you get a smaller one that can play but he can’t dig.

“I think he can do both, I really do.”

Despite joining on Friday, Mendy was immediately thrust in for his debut at Cambridge United as Town came away with a 2-0 win.

He instantly caught the eye and looks to be the type of player that Hatters have been crying out for in midfield.

Buckle added: “I think you saw with very little preparation what sort of player he’s going to be for us.

“He’s strong, keeps it simple and is very, very smooth as well with the ball.

“Hopefully, we’ll get him a bit fitter as he cramped up, but I’m sure he’s going to fit in nicely.

“There are going to be a lot of second balls. If you had a pound for the amount of times they (Cambridge) knocked the ball up in the air you’d be a millionaire.

“They banged it up and banged it up and the midfield’s job is to pick the seconds up.

“Mendy will help us where that’s concerned. People like (Alex) Lawless, (Jake) Howells and JJ (O’Donnell) are not blessed with a lot of height.

“Hopefully he can be a big success for us and on that showing, I don’t see why he can’t be.”

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