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Ex-Hammers youth star eager to become a top number nine at Luton Marshall determined to be in the goals this season New Luton signing Callum Marshall is relishing the chance to prove himself as an out-and-out number nine following his move to Kenilworth Road last week. The 21-year-old showed just how prolific he can be in front of goal when coming through the ranks with the Hammers, scoring over 50 times for the Irons’ youth teams during his time in east London. He then notched double figures when on a season-long loan in League One with Huddersfield Town during the 2024-25 campaign, going on to make his Premier League debut for West Ham last term, before finishing the campaign at 2. Bundesliga side VfL Bochum. Marshall has also won 15 caps for Northern Ireland since his first outing in June 2023, although has found the majority of those have come in a wider position than he is used to. Having agreed to move to Kenilworth Road, he did so with assurities from Luton boss Jack Wilshere that he will be used within the whites of the posts, saying: “I made my debut when I was 18 (for Northern Ireland) and I’ve been playing out wide a lot for the national team, but I know I won’t have half the career as a wideman as I would as a striker. "That’s another reason why I’ve come here, as the manager was quite clear that he was bringing me in as a nine as I think I need to show that I am a nine and build a name for myself as a nine rather than as a wideman or a 10.” Wanting to play upfront and then delivering are two different things of course, but Marshall is confident that with Town expected to push for promotion, he will be at the spearhead of a side who are fashioning opportunities galore to convert, continuing: "Some of the teams I’ve been playing in before have been a bit more defensive-minded and have less possession, so a lot of our work is done without the ball, whereas hopefully this season Luton will be a team with good amount of possession and creating a decent amount of chances. "It was important for me to get into a team who was dominating games as then as a striker, you’re getting more chances to get on the end of things. Hopefully we’re dominating games which gives me more opportunities to score. That’s my main thing, I think if I get chances I’ll score goals, so hopefully the way that we play will suit me. If you’re pushing for promotion then most of the time you’re going to be the better team, you’re going to be dominating the ball and creating chances, which for a striker is the ideal situation.” Marshall had his first run-out in front of his new fanbase on Saturday, starting upfront in Luton’s final pre-season friendly, a 1-0 defeat against Eredivisie side Go Ahead Eagles. Although he was unable to find the net, he gave Town supporters some early signs of just what he can bring to the team, with plenty of enthusiastic pressing, dropping deep to link up when possible, and almost turning in a cross from Jordan Clark, before seeing another header deflected over. There were signs that he could strike up a good partnership with Kasey Palmer too, while Marshall is clearly unafraid to get stuck in either, booked for a rash tackle in the first period. Reflecting on his opening 45 minutes, he said: “It was against a hard team, they kept the ball well, but we limited them to just a few chances as they didn’t really break us down too many times. All in all it was a close game, it was tough, but good to get on the pitch and play in front of the fans. "It was hard to press them, but we (Marshall and Palmer) were trying to work it out and trying to play off each other. I think that will be a big thing this season, me and him playing together, so hopefully it works out well. I was disappointed that I didn’t score with one or two, so hopefully in the coming weeks I can turn those into goals. There were no clear-cut chances, but there were one or two half-chances that on my day I’d like to think that I’d convert. "It is what it is. Hopefully going into the season we’re creating a good amount of chances and I’m getting on the end of them. I don’t mind leaving a challenge in either. To be fair, I saw the ball so I thought I was going to get it. I was just annoyed I got booked for it, as I didn’t think I was going to, I thought I was going to get away with it.” Bos Jack Wilshere witnessed enough to be enthused over just what the young forward can add to his side, saying: “I think you can see why he’s going to score goals because of his movement. He had one chance, maybe two chances, when he was a little bit late for one, but his movement, if you break that down in the box is really hard to control. We’ve seen that the last few days in training, so I’m sure when he feels a little bit more comfortable with the group and he understands the players around him, he’s going to score goals.” Playing for Wilshere was also a big reason why Marshall was so keen to make the move, coupled with linking up with a number of his former West Ham team-mates, plus an international one as well. He stated: “I played against Jack a few times whenever he was at Arsenal U18s, so I liked the way he played football. "The meetings I had with them, I always knew Luton were a big club and they would be pushing for promotion this year, so I just weighed everything up and the stuff I was told in the meetings sounded good to me. I decided to come here and hopefully it’s good for my career in the long run. I text Gids (Gideon Kodua), as I know Gids, I know Harrison (Ashby), he was at West Ham when I was there and obviously Savs (George Saville) plays Northern Ireland with me, so it was good to know a couple of people coming into training. "It feels like I’ve been here for a couple of weeks already so I feel comfortable. What I like was how chilled out and how everyone got on. Sometimes there’s egos in teams, but I just felt like everyone got on and I don’t think there’s going to be any problem me fitting into the changing room and into the team and that impressed me. They made me feel included, all the lads have been really good with me.” With Marshall looking to make the number nine slot his own, he knows faces competition from the more experienced duo of Wells and Devante Cole, but is ready for that battle, adding: “Any club you go to it’s never just going to be you. They’ve both been really nice to me since I came in, so hopefully I’m playing games, but I hope all three of us get on well all season now.”