Luton boss Nathan Jones (left) gave James Justin his Luton debut in 2016

James Justin was often in the shadow of some "unbelievable" team-mates in Luton Town's academy.

From his age group, brothers Jay and Cole Dasilva secured moves to Chelsea, while Jamal Lewis left for Norwich, where he is now a regular in a side vying for promotion to the Premier League.

Full-back Justin, 20, has ignored transfer speculation to stay put at Kenilworth Road and is now enjoying his much-deserved time in the spotlight.

Four League One victories for the Hatters, three clean sheets and two goals has seen the local lad win the English Football League's Young Player of the Month award.

BBC Sport looks at the rise of Justin and Luton, who are right in the mix for promotion back to the Championship.

'I've justified staying here'

Justin joined the Hatters at the age of seven, but went somewhat under the radar as he progressed through their youth system, which he used to his advantage.

"It's nice because you can steadily get on with your work and there's not a lot of pressure on you, per se," he said.

"I can say that I wasn't the best player in our age group, because there was always one that was just unbelievable.

"I was competing with them but they got their moves earlier. I just feel like I've justified staying here throughout, and it's paying dividends now."

The England Under-20 international's dad is a Luton fan, while the late former West Brom striker Cyrille Regis was Justin's agent for a spell.

His breakthrough came in the 2016-17 season and he has since become one of the club's most talked-about players, linked with a transfer in every window despite being under contract until 2021.

"I don't even bother looking at it now - it's just lots of speculation happening," he said.

"Since my first year it started, and ever since then I just keep my feet on the ground and keep on playing football."

Bringing back the good times

Justin (left) showcased a swim and surf celebration after scoring against Plymouth

This time last year League Two Luton were the most prolific team in England's professional divisions, even outscoring Manchester City.

Nathan Jones' side once again lead the goalscoring charts in the third tier this season, with 29 goals in 11 home matches.

"When you come to Kenilworth Road you know you're in for a difficult game, and it's proven this season," Justin said.

"If we get the first goal early then the floodgates are soon to be opened on a lot of teams."

Justin - who has played right-back, left-back and in midfield during his fledgling career - added: "Anywhere on the pitch is a fun position to play for our team really."

During his time in the academy, the Hatters fell from the Championship to the Conference, but they have lost just 21 of their 114 league games since Justin's first-team debut in May 2016, taking them to second in League One.

"Ever since then - since the start of the 2016-17 season - we've just been on a roll basically," he said.

"At the moment there's no stopping us I'd say, but we've just got to keep our heads down and keep working on the training pitch - take every game as it comes and hopefully by the end of the season we'll still be up there.

"Through the times the club has had, and maybe lack of success we've had over the last 10 years, it's nice for them to see one of their own come through and perform in the first team."