Jamie Donley hits first EFL double for Luton as Spurs hand Farren Doran pro deal
Jamie Donley produced the best night of his loan career so far on Tuesday, scoring twice as Luton Town beat Doncaster Rovers 3-1 at Kenilworth Road, while back in N17 the Academy has handed a first professional contract to young goalkeeper Farren Doran.
Two goals and a disallowed free-kick
Donley was involved from the start in Bedfordshire. His free-kick from the right found the net midway through the first half after touches off Nahki Wells and the Doncaster goalkeeper, but referee Matthew Russell chalked it off for holding in the area. Luton went in front instead through a Callum Marshall penalty just before the break.
The Spurs loanee doubled the lead six minutes after the restart. According to Luton’s own match report, Jake Richards set him up for a first-time finish that curled into the bottom corner. Richards was the provider again for the third, a left-footed strike past Tommy Simkin with 18 minutes left. Bayley McCann headed in a late consolation for Rovers, but Luton were comfortable by then.
A first for Donley in the EFL
As the club noted on its website, Donley had never managed two goals in a single EFL match before, despite loan stints at Orient, Stoke and Oxford ahead of this one at Luton. He played the full 90 minutes, was named man of the match by the home side, and now has four goals from ten appearances for Jack Wilshere’s team.
The win was Luton’s third at home inside a week and leaves them with four victories from five league outings since the international break. It lifts them to eighth in League One, a point outside the play-off places, ahead of a trip to Peterborough on Saturday.
For Spurs, that kind of output matters. Donley is a creative attacker, an area where Roberto De Zerbi has options again with James Maddison scoring on his first start in 536 days and Dejan Kulusevski back in the squad picture. Regular goals in League One give the Northern Ireland international a stronger case when his future is next discussed.
Pro deal for Farren Doran
Closer to home, the club confirmed that Doran has put pen to paper on professional terms for the first time, though the length of the deal was not disclosed. The goalkeeper joined Spurs aged 16 in the summer of 2025 after coming through the age groups at Manchester City.
His first Under-18 Premier League appearance came in March, when Spurs won 4-1 away to Birmingham City, and on his first outing for the Under-21s over the summer, saved three penalties in a shootout victory over Spanish side Algeciras CF.
Doran is currently gaining senior experience on a short-term loan at Enfield Town in the Isthmian League. As the Isthmian League reported, his debut came in a lively 3-3 draw at Three Bridges, a game in which Enfield fell two goals behind inside 15 minutes before turning it round by half-time.
The first team return to action against Crystal Palace on Saturday.
