Five Facts: James Justin

First Team
30 Jun 2019
2 Minutes
Following James Justin’s arrival at King Power Stadium on Friday, LCFC.com takes a look at five things you may not know about the 21-year-old Luton-born defender.

Justin’s move from boyhood club Luton Town sees him agree a five-year deal as he becomes the Club’s first signing of the summer.

The highly-rated, versatile defender will meet his new team-mates for the first time on Monday, as the Leicester City squad begin preparations for the 2019/20 season.

An FA Youth Cup Quarter-Finalist

A year after Leicester City’s Under-18s reached the semi-finals of the prestigious FA Youth Cup, Justin helped Luton Town to the last-eight, where they were eventually beaten 1-0 by Blackburn Rovers. Luton’s Under-18s beat Colchester United, Leyton Orient, Notts County, Oldham Atheltic and Preston North End en route to the quarter-finals. Justin played in every game and scored the first spot-kick during the penalty shootout win over Preston.

A century of appearances

Justin found the net on three occasions in 2018/19 en route to the League 1 title.

At the age of just 21, the young defender has already played over 100 times for Luton in all competitions, including 52 appearances for the Hatters in the 2018/19 campaign. He made his professional debut for the club in May 2016 during a 4-1 victory over Exeter, and scored his first goal in the 4-1 win at Accrington Stanley 11 months later. Last term, he was on the scoresheet three times in the triumphs over Scunthorpe United, Plymouth Argyle and Bradford City.

Back-to-back promotions

The defender (centre) celebrates winning the League 1 trophy with Luton.

Justin has experienced two memorable seasons in football, first winning promotion to League 1 in 2017/18 after a second-placed finish, before Luton won England’s third tier by three points. With the assistance of Justin, Luton’s back-to-back promotions mean they will play Championship football for the first time since 2007. Justin played in 43 of Luton’s 46 League 1 fixtures in 2018/19.

Silverware as a youngster

His eye for goal has seen him score six times for the Hatters.

As an Under-11 in Luton’s academy, Justin didn’t have to wait long to taste success as he won the Aarau Masters in 2009. The youngster was part of the 10-man Luton squad that beat Bayern Munich 3-2 in the final in Switzerland, with 3,000 fans watching on. They emerged from a group that included Bayern, CSKA Moscow and Sachsen Leipzig, before Justin was on target in a 3-0 win over Werder Bremen. He also scored in the 2-1 victory over Zenit St Petersburg, before beating the Germans in the final.

International team-mates with a Fox

The right-back’s first international appearance came in August 2017, when he emerged from the substitutes’ bench to play alongside young Leicester City defender Darnell Johnson in England Under-20s’ 3-0 triumph over the Netherlands in Telford. A minute later, Johnson was on the scoresheet for the young Lions to round off the victory. Four days after the win, Justin made his full debut for England Under-20s in a goalless draw with Switzerland in Winterthur.