Nathan Jones could be an Albion boss in the making – if he makes a go of things at Luton Town.

That is the view of his former team-mate Adam Virgo after Jones, 42, left his post as first-team coach at the Amex and signed a deal to take over at Kenilworth Road until the end of the 2017-18 campaign.

Virgo, who also played for Jones at Yeovil, sees him as a bold appointment in succession to lower-division veteran John Still He said: “Nathan is very much a person who can lift you. He can make you realise you are a better player than you have been showing.

“He is big on fitness. He was the first player I can remember who, when I was leaving the training pitch, would call you back to do a bit more.

“Of course the move is a risk but it’s also an exciting time.

“He speaks a lot of sense, he is very passionate and he has got good players at Luton. They are struggling a bit for form but they just a need a bit of TLC, if you like.

“It will have tugged at his heart strings to leave Brighton. I would never rule out him being manager back here one day if things go well for him.”

Jones, pictured above, worked as coach under Oscar Garcia, Sami Hyypia and Chris Hughton and also led the side to four points from two games as caretaker boss.

Virgo added: “I think those two games, especially the win at Fulham, made him think ‘I can have a bit of this’. The move into management hasn’t come out of the blue.”

Jones came close to landing the Plymouth job last summer and has made no secret of his ambitions.

He told The Argus recently: “I’m very ambitious. I want to go into management but I don’t just want to be a manager.

“I want to learn, I want to be equipped for it. And I’m at the right club (Albion) to be able to do that.”

He moves with the blessing of both Hughton and chairman Tony Bloom.

Bloom said: “We understand that this is an opportunity he feels he must take to progress his career. On behalf of all at the club, I would like to thank him for his efforts and wish him very well for the future.”

Hughton added: “The club has been aware of Nathan’s ambition to become a manager for some time and we all would like to wish him well in his new role.”