The Hatters academy graduate has made 88 appearances in total, netting six goals since he made his debut in May 2016.

November was a particularly impressive month for the 20-year-old, finding the back of the net on two occasions, setting up two and helping the Town keep an excellent defensive record – conceding just twice in four outings.

Jones said: "It's thoroughly deserved, obviously I am slightly biased because he is our player, but he has been in wonderful form. I am really proud of him, it's always nice to get those accolades with Elliot and him getting those and they are personal ones, but I am sure they'll be first to praise the level of the team, in giving them a platform to produce those kind of performances, so we're very proud of him and he's at such a good level at the minute that we hope he continues that.

"I don't think he can be in the spotlight anymore [than he is now], in terms of the age and playing regularly and the level he is at. We're very proud of him for that and he has had to show a lot of maturity in his fledgling career because he's very harshly at times not been in the team. That's the level of the squad we have got and he's got on with it, he's trained well, he's got his opportunity and he's taken it. He comes with a big reputation for a young boy.

"Well he's better than I was [in my playing days], I will tell you that! He can play at whatever level he wants to, because athletically he can handle the top level, the Premier League. Which for example is something I couldn't do, I was extremely fit, but he can, so then it's about his learning curve. It's about how he handles it defensively, positioning, one-against-ones.

"But he has the tools to play at the highest levels, it's early on in his career, and it's not just getting there, when you get there you want to be able to impact and continue your career. That's why we believe in a process here, he's part of that process, he believes in it, so do the people who look after him, and his family. We're very, very pleased to have him, and he's homegrown which adds a little cherry on top.

"He's nowhere near the finished article. He has attributes which mean he can play at a very high level, but look he's still learning his trade and makes the odd error now and again, or things that we see that he can improve on. That's a constant process with him, with all of our players really.

"Even the likes of Sheehan and McCormack are still getting better and adding consistency over a big period of time, but we want to develop everyone. He has to learn his trade now, because he has shown us he has the tools and he has shown us he has real potential, so now it's about fulfilling that.

"He's such a humble kid, he comes from a great grounding with his family. His father is a big Luton fan and a very humble guy, a driven guy, but a very humble guy. That transcends all the way to James and his character. He's been exemplary. He's got good people looking after him as well in terms of the representatives.

"They understand what we're doing here and that's a big, big thing. James has been exemplary in terms of his attitude, in terms of his application and he's never, ever gone backwards and that's the biggest thing, at not one point has he gone backwards or standing still even. That's when they stop trusting the process. But he has, and he hasn't stopped trusting it and he's at a very, very good level."