There will always be heart-warming and epic football stories. The key player in this one is London-born Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu, the Luton Town midfielder who has seen his team rise from non-league football all the way to the Premier League.

The defensive midfielder arrived at Luton Town in 2013, on loan from West Ham at hardly 20-years-old. He moved from the Premier League down to the National League, the fifth division of English football, and the first non-league.

That same season, the club were promoted to League Two, and Mpanzu made his move to the Hatters a permanent one. Luton spent four seasons in League Two, finally gaining promotion after the 2017-18 season.

Mpanzu remained key, making 52 appearances in the club's first, and only League One season. They reached the Championship, England's second division, in 2019-20, where they remained for another four seasons, on the fence of England's elite.

Finally ensuring promotion in 2022-23, the future of Luton Town's captain could have been destined for a change, but his renewal with the club makes him to only player to have gone from non-league to the Premier League with the same club, his Hatters.

Across 10 years, side-by-side, Luton Town and Mpanzu have reached the best of the best, and will face off against the titans of Europe next season. Their first match will see them travel to Brighton, and they will face a Seagulls team who also made history last season, securing European football for the first time in the club's history.

July 10, 2023

Pelly Ruddock

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