Townsend eats chicken feet in bid to extend career

Luton winger Andros Townsend says he is making “little 1%” efforts to try to prolong his career – including eating chicken feet for dinner.

“I’ve only got a three-month contract. Luton need to use me straight away and I need to make sure I’m fit,” he said.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Monday Night Club, Townsend outlined that he had turned to natural solutions after questioning why he was taking so many different supplementary pills and shots to help his body recover from the rigours of the game.

“One of the best natural sources of collagen is chicken feet. It is simple,” added Townsend, who earned the last of his 13 England caps in 2016.

“It tastes exactly like a chicken wing. It is low on meat, it has a lot of cartilage close to the bone. It’s got skin around it. It’s very nice. In China, South Africa and in Portugal, it is eaten quite commonly.

“It’s 20 minutes in the steam oven and get it down you.”

Townsend also explained his attempts to find marginal gains in his diet and other off-pitch habits in order to stay in peak condition went further: “A lamb’s heart is another one I’ve just ordered to try. Mouth taping [to aid sleep], I am doing that.

“All I know is that I am 32 years of age, I’ve been out of the game for two years and I feel absolutely amazing.

“In my prime at 27, 28, it would take me so long to recover after games – I’d be struggling for the rest of the week and sort of managing myself. Now I am feeling so much fresher and ready to go on Monday.

“I don’t know what it is specifically but I think all these little 1%s are adding up. Nutrition and recovery, the hyperbaric chamber, red-light therapy, flow therapy… all these things I am doing seem to be working.”

The former Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United and Crystal Palace winger had looked set to move to Burnley in the summer before they withdrew their contract offer.

He has made four appearances since arriving at Kenilworth Road.